Morningstar Investment Services LLC Sells 17,843 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 55.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,843 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $282,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 7,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $119.91. 1,163,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,461,329. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $116.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.14. The company has a market capitalization of $93.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.