Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Meridian Financial Partners LLC

Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up about 1.6% of Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $100.23. The company had a trading volume of 3,898,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87. The firm has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

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.