Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Trimmed by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 26,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 182.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after buying an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 18,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 4,507 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.90. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.36.

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.