Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC cut its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 707 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $100.65 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.26. The firm has a market cap of $77.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.74.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.