Commerce Bank Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Commerce Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 258,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,498 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $27,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cravens & Co Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DUK traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $121.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,105,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,377,561. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $96.68 and a one year high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $118.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.22.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.