Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,103,000 after buying an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $41,874,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 96.1% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,529,000 after purchasing an additional 387,038 shares during the period. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,278,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $115.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.58. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $89.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.