Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 4,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,486,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc lifted its position in Duke Energy by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 33,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.98 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.58.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

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.