Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,557 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the first 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. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.94.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,966,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,464,613. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.81 and a 200-day moving average of $114.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

Duke Energy Company 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.