Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 26,759 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,759 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $20,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.75.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $114.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.90.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.