Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,521,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,205 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.20% of Duke Energy worth $147,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $923,907,000 after buying an additional 492,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $799,599,000 after acquiring an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $698,923,000 after acquiring an additional 144,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $635,952,000 after purchasing an additional 715,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,497,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,033,088. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $102.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $78.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.31.

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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