Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Trimmed by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,572,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 53,588 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.20% of Duke Energy worth $181,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Duke Energy by 15.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $182,101,000 after acquiring an additional 240,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.70. 1,991,475 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,069,892. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.69. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $89.92 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.69.

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.