Sunbelt Securities Inc. Purchases 213 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 value of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. 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 report on Monday, May 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $100.62 on Friday. The firm 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.38. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.87.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. 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.