Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 215.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,783 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% in the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.0% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Mizuho increased 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. 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.58.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK traded up $1.49 on Wednesday, reaching $108.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,875,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,898,316. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.51 and a 200-day moving average of $98.21. The company has a market capitalization of $83.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $108.92.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during 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%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Duke Energy Company 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.