Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 30,023 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 329,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,023 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $40,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $163,819,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after acquiring an additional 625,008 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $218,454,000 after acquiring an additional 585,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,098,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,474,968. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $104.02 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.79 and a 200 day moving average of $115.69.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business 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%. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.88.

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.