Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,938,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,091 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.25% of Duke Energy worth $187,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,074,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 51.0% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 273.2% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,635,000 after purchasing an additional 561,000 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP raised its stake in Duke Energy by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 3,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $318,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of DUK opened at $99.84 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.87. The company has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.42 and a 200 day moving average of $97.47.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued 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 was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised 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 increased their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% 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.