Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Lifted by Aspiriant LLC

Aspiriant LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 233.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 12,073 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 263.2% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 20.5% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 82,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,252,000 after acquiring an additional 13,991 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 27,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 338,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,910,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $100.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.