Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,063 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

DUK opened at $117.31 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $118.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.79 and a 200-day moving average of $104.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $90.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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.