Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,400,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 249,967 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $258,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 96,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 40.9% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,233,000 after buying an additional 13,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 47.8% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 27,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 8,732 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. 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

Duke Energy stock opened at $118.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.