Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Position Raised by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 499,652 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.04% of Duke Energy worth $862,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the period. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $121.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,609,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,383,386. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.53. The firm has a market cap of $94.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $98.58 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share 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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Duke Energy 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.