MML Investors Services LLC Has $34.42 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 319,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,618 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $163,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $119.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,717,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,385,983. The company has a market cap of $93.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.49 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $118.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim upped 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.