Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 27.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,301 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.21.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

DUK stock opened at $114.05 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $88.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.36. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.31.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s 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 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.