Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by InterOcean Capital Group LLC

InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 118.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,842 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded down $0.76 on Wednesday, hitting $103.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,071,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,995,937. The stock has a market cap of $79.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.85.

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.