First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $1.71 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 492 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $2,074,000. Rainsberger Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rainsberger Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 166,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,706,000 after buying an additional 18,842 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 63.3% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 26,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,361,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $99.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,356,087. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $101.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $104.87. The company has a market capitalization of $77.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus 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.