Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 69.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,919 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,045,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 132.4% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 15,541 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 8,853 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 5,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3%

DUK traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,966,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,419,925. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Company 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.