Advisory Services Network LLC Has $6.12 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Advisory Services Network LLC cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,706 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research 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 “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.42.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.24. The stock had a trading volume of 573,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,900,238. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $105.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $81.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $101.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.69.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, 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 transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.