SVB Wealth LLC Purchases 1,051 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 7,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Finally, PFG Advisors boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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. Six equities research 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, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of DUK traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.74. The stock had a trading volume of 417,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,882,963. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.48. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $110.02. The firm has a market cap of $83.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.