Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Lessened by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,710 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4,163.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 882,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,352,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,874,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 96.1% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,529,000 after buying an additional 387,038 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $113.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $116.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.11. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

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.