3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Makes New $816,000 Investment in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,694 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.88.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE DUK traded up $0.84 on Tuesday, reaching $118.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,495,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,472,689. The company's fifty day moving average is $117.48 and its 200-day moving average is $115.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

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. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

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.