3,456 Shares in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Acquired by Code Waechter LLC

Code Waechter LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Davis R M Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 51,252 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,522,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.49. 959,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,470,240. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $102.66 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $91.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.64. 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 (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.88.

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.