Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,002 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $103.44. 3,023,075 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,017,859. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.08 and a 200-day moving average of $95.45. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $104.60. The stock has a market cap of $79.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released 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. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.85.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.