Trust Point Inc. Reduces Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Trust Point Inc. reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 33.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,770 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,450 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 31.6% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.42. The stock had a trading volume of 5,839,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,467,749. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.02 and a 200-day moving average of $114.89. The firm has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders 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 3.62%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 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.