Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,858,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,447 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $200,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

DUK stock opened at $115.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $109.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.