Vanguard Group Inc. Has $7.85 Billion Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.44% of Duke Energy worth $7,852,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,830,000 after buying an additional 6,724 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 21.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 93,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,766,000 after purchasing an additional 16,259 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 259.1% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,676 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $586,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

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Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $119.42. 3,941,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,228,407. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The company has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.72.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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.