HM Payson & Co. Has $726,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

HM Payson & Co. reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

DUK traded up $1.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.92. 4,606,697 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,871,585. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.57 and its 200 day moving average is $98.84. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.58.

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.