Washington Trust Bank Acquires New Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Washington Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,852,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after buying an additional 968,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after acquiring an additional 842,458 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after purchasing an additional 715,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Duke Energy news, 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 transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $102.36. 2,434,416 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,975,447. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.70. The stock has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.87. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share 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 $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Bank of America lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.75.

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.