Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 439 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 109.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,566,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,013,000 after acquiring an additional 25,405 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $701,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,745,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.18.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

Duke Energy 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.