Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 90,780 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 33.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 90,780 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $22,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.94.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,567,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,469,832. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.01. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $90.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.