Strategic Planning Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of DUK stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $115.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,442,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,445,098. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $118.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.88.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.