Maple Brown Abbott Ltd Has $67.62 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 586,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 130,640 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 6.7% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $67,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.21.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.66 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $118.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

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.