Sei Investments Co. Purchases 140,413 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 25.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 687,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 140,413 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.09% of Duke Energy worth $66,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.42.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $105.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,863,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,915,950. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $105.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $101.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.77.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.