Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 85,038 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 917,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 85,038 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Duke Energy worth $98,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 6,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its position in Duke Energy by 143.5% during the fourth quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 227,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,558,000 after acquiring an additional 134,336 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 53,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $121.66. The stock had a trading volume of 812,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,380,561. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $97.49 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $118.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.48. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $94.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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 expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

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.