Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 156,705 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 136.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 271,815 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 156,705 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $29,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy by 35.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 13,056 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 18.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 208,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,185,000 after purchasing an additional 20,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.9% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 89,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,340,000 after purchasing an additional 5,770 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $115.86 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $110.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.

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