Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,805 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after buying an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after acquiring an additional 968,723 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after purchasing an additional 739,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 273.2% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 766,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,635,000 after purchasing an additional 561,000 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.20. 2,115,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,956,938. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $104.87. The firm has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

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.