Swiss National Bank Sells 68,800 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,409,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 68,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of Duke Energy worth $233,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after acquiring an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,672,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,321,000 after buying an additional 124,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,952,000 after buying an additional 715,069 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $100.23. 4,338,348 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,004,530. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.02. The firm has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.