Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Raised by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 177,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,130 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $17,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. 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 note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised 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 note on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reduced 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 note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $103.74. The company had a trading volume of 470,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,992,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.74 and its 200-day moving average is $95.30. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $104.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

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.