Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 66.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 622,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,251,186 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of Duke Energy worth $75,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,240,000 after acquiring an additional 20,414 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.75. 2,789,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,458,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $118.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

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.