TIAA Trust National Association Acquires 4,843 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 145,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,843 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $15,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.5% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.7% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 218,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.10 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.