Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,657 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. United Bank boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 278,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,056,000 after purchasing an additional 20,394 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 32.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 9.5% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 111,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,848,000 after buying an additional 27,462 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $118.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.66.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Company 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.