Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Sells 1,348 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,898,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $101.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.45. 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 has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.