Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires 4,464 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 160.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,464 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $202,858,000 after buying an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in 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 buying an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $117.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,432,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,451,448. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $118.12 and its 200 day moving average is $114.93. The stock has a market cap of $91.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 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 analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.81.

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.