2,774 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by City National Bank of Florida MSD

City National Bank of Florida MSD acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highview Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,173,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 12,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Adalta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 20,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 268.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $116.51. 2,683,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,439,012. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $90.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.81.

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.