Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 551 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $123,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 3,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE DUK traded up $1.32 on Friday, reaching $113.92. The stock had a trading volume of 4,606,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,585. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.84. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $116.67. The company has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.