Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stake Lifted by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 18.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 217,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,298 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $26,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 59,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,275,000 after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the period. William Allan Corp purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $233,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 63.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Gries Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Duke Energy stock opened at $125.08 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $124.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $97.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.63.

Duke Energy Company 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.