Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 78,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,839 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports 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 note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.15.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $111.35 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.65. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $85.79 and a 52-week high of $118.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46.

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. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

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.