Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc lessened its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 79.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,460 shares during the period. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,934,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,783 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,205,070,000 after buying an additional 319,001 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after buying an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,691,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,025,244,000 after acquiring an additional 34,906 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $126.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.63.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.60 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $130.03. The firm has a market cap of $89.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $123.02 and a 200 day moving average of $121.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio 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.