Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,247 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises about 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,031,000 after buying an additional 968,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after buying an additional 739,112 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 273.2% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,635,000 after buying an additional 561,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.26. 2,488,660 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,968,449. The company has a market cap of $75.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.13.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy 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.