Assetmark Inc. Acquires 9,042 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 23.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,042 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after purchasing an additional 499,652 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.68 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $116.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 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 (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 70.65%.

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.

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