Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,726 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 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 objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.21.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $114.05. 3,513,136 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,992,161. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.29. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $118.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

About Duke Energy

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.