Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 160,042.9% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 11,203 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.0% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 112,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,231,000 after buying an additional 10,162 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 48.1% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 42,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,272,000 after acquiring an additional 13,846 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.3% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.37 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.55 and its 200 day moving average is $103.97. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.