Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 630 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 630 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $115.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $112.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.66. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.