Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $117.28. 1,415,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,475,968. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.54 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued 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 dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. 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, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.88.

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.