Lantz Financial LLC Has $723,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lantz Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $787,328,000 after purchasing an additional 42,782 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,351,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,193,000 after purchasing an additional 84,227 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,845,000 after purchasing an additional 31,309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $116.93 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.58. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $118.18. The firm has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average 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.