BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Cuts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 32.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,097 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during 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 buying an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,205,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $345,358,000 after purchasing an additional 90,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $0.84 on Friday, hitting $119.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,717,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,389,366. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $97.49 and a one year high of $125.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $118.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.35. The stock has a market cap of $93.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current 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.