Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by New Hampshire Trust

New Hampshire Trust boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $100.10 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87. The stock has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.75.

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.