Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Has $15.58 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 161,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,263 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 1.3% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $15,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, hitting $99.64. The stock had a trading volume of 697,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,927,000. The business’s fifty day moving average is $101.37 and its 200 day moving average is $97.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $104.87. 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 has a market cap of $76.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.