Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 4,063 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $27,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after acquiring an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.40 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $104.02 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.69. The stock has a market cap of $91.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.88.

About Duke Energy

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.

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