Rockland Trust Co. Sells 276 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Rockland Trust Co. lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.71 on Friday, reaching $114.05. 3,513,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,992,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $118.31. The firm has a market cap of $88.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.28 and its 200-day moving average is $105.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.21.

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.