Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,274 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have 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

A number of analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.75.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $99.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $104.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.24.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

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.