Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by First Heartland Consultants Inc.

First Heartland Consultants Inc. cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of DUK stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $116.36. 2,433,878 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,438,910. The business's fifty day moving average is $118.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. 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. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.