Wedmont Private Capital Has $906,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 509,039 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew 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 acquiring an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 42,782 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $99.84 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $77.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.21.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.75.

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.