Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $149.76 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,389,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 210,468 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.18% of Duke Energy worth $149,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares during the period. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $120.87. 1,206,361 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,880,782. 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 firm has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $118.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.57. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.10 and a twelve month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.46%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price 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 eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.