Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the first quarter, owning over 1.39 million shares worth approximately $169.6 million.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $1.05, with a yield of 3.4%.
• After its latest earnings report, Duke Energy's stock has an average target price of $129.20 and is rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,390,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 161,414 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Duke Energy worth $169,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $218,454,000 after acquiring an additional 585,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $862,036,000 after acquiring an additional 499,652 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Duke Energy stock opened at $125.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $118.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.20.

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.

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