First Heartland Consultants Inc. Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 43.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,187 shares during the quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:DUK traded down $1.84 on Wednesday, reaching $114.54. 713,761 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,429,515. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.87 and a 200-day moving average of $114.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.