Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 954 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 19,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,098,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the second quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 4,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 12,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $854,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Louis E. Renjel sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total transaction of $189,810.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,703.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $96.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $99.26 and its 200-day moving average is $98.95. The company has a market cap of $74.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.76 and a 12 month high of $116.33.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.27 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.005 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 121.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.64.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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Duke Energy Corp. engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities & Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment conducts operations in regulated electric utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest.