Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Has $1.92 Million Stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 691 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,930,833,000 after buying an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew 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 worth $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Duke Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after acquiring an additional 625,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.9%

DUK opened at $117.68 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current 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 represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 70.65%.

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.