Wolff Wiese Magana LLC Purchases 452 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy accounts for 1.4% of Wolff Wiese Magana LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% in 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. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DUK shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.91. The company has a market capitalization of $89.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.