Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,273 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after buying an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $787,328,000 after buying an additional 42,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,351,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,193,000 after buying an additional 84,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.58.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 three months, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,270,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,489,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $83.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.40. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $110.02.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

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.