Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 5,091 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,091 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $99.81 on Wednesday. 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 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $104.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.