GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 3,985 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 122.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,985 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 10.1% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 3,694 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 14,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after purchasing an additional 968,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

DUK traded down $2.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $111.49. 3,233,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,928,216. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.86. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $116.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $86.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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, June 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.