Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 100,828 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,491,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,828 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $176,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,264,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.64 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation 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 will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank set a $137.00 target price on Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.