Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Sells 5,865 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 33.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,850 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,865 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% during 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8%

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.33. The stock had a trading volume of 3,135,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,488,512. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $100.30 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $117.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.88.

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.