Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 467,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,266 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $50,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's 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 0.9 %

NYSE DUK traded down $1.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $121.46. 4,036,008 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,386,469. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $94.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $96.68 and a 12-month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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 forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.