California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,529,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,705 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.46% of Duke Energy worth $380,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 7,319 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $119.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.