Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Sells 2,105 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,105 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,125,000 after buying an additional 509,039 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $923,907,000 after buying an additional 492,011 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 position 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. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $100.22 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $101.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.43. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

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.