ZRC Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

ZRC Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho raised 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. Scotiabank dropped 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 research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE DUK traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $99.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,072,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,356,087. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.44 and a 200-day moving average of $97.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.