Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,229,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,489 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $132,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its stake in Duke Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

DUK stock opened at $117.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, 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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.