Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 8,740 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 33.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,740 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Eagle Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 12,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.1% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,552 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $99.81 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $104.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $77.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of 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 90 days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.33.

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.