Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Raised by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 576.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 128,569 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $19,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $9,815,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 212.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 79,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,618,000 after purchasing an additional 54,413 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 338.6% during the 1st quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,451,000 after purchasing an additional 11,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,905,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,493,339. The firm's 50 day moving average is $116.96 and its 200 day moving average is $116.52. The company has a market cap of $93.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued 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 target price of $127.25.

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.