River Road Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,550 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $247,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.62. The company had a trading volume of 4,236,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,047,875. The company's 50-day moving average price is $115.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.61. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $86.61 and a one year high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $87.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.