Procyon Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Procyon Advisors LLC decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction 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 approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $100.59. 2,357,705 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,943,968. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.38. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. The company has a market cap of $77.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.