National Pension Service Has $237.37 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,011,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,713 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $237,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advyzon Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 212.0% in the second quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 7,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.3% in the second quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the second quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 5,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,369,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.00.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $123.95 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $130.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.07 and its 200 day moving average is $120.89.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

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.