Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Has $178,000 Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 53.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,139 shares during the quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,031,000 after acquiring an additional 968,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after acquiring an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 273.2% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,635,000 after acquiring an additional 561,000 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $101.51. 2,020,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,963,718. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.27. The company has a market capitalization of $78.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Duke Energy 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.