Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 704,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 71,211 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.09% of Duke Energy worth $76,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in 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 buying an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after purchasing an additional 499,652 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $115.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,950,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,412,821. The firm has a market cap of $89.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $119.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.