Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,125,000 after buying an additional 509,039 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $787,328,000 after purchasing an additional 42,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $100.10 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.87. The firm has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. 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’s 50 day moving average is $100.73 and its 200-day moving average is $97.16.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.75.

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.