Advocate Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Advocate Group LLC reduced its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,234 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for 1.6% of Advocate Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE DUK opened at $115.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $117.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.75.

About Duke Energy

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.