Centiva Capital LP Sells 13,863 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Centiva Capital LP trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,863 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Duke Energy by 263.1% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 94,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,224,000 after purchasing an additional 68,759 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 403,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,284,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of DUK stock traded down $2.73 on Tuesday, hitting $113.12. 7,355,969 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,410,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $119.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.