Swiss National Bank Sells 109,200 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,181,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 109,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Duke Energy worth $235,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,032,000. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.93.

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Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $2.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $120.29. 5,709,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,631,062. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.