Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $247,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40,243 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,845,000 after purchasing an additional 31,309 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.21.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.16. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.