Advocate Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Advocate Group LLC cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,234 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises 1.6% of Advocate Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE DUK traded up $0.84 on Friday, reaching $115.42. 6,188,001 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,469,705. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $117.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.90. The company has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio 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.