Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Purchases 741 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 72,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 161,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,580,000 after acquiring an additional 5,263 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $259,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 12,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE DUK opened at $99.81 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $101.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 can be accessed through this link. In other 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 value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America upped 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. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

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.