Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Acquires 27,127 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 455,211 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,127 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned about 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $49,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 32,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 3,311 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Duke Energy by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.98 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $119.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.57. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $90.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. 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.

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