Nuveen Asset Management LLC Purchases 625,008 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.63% of Duke Energy worth $521,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

DUK traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $116.27. 2,966,683 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,418,824. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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 (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 analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.00.

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.