Bollard Group LLC Raises Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bollard Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 228,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,332 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises 0.6% of Bollard Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $26,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 53.7% in the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cowen began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.44.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.49 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $130.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.23. The firm has a market cap of $90.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.