Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank boosted its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 96,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,173,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $173,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 40.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Wills Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wills Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. UBS Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $118.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. 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 $125.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.