Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,137,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,561,462 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.05% of Duke Energy worth $936,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 21.7% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 6,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petra Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

DUK stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.82. 5,141,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,064,908. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $90.09 and a one year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.