Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Increased by Cetera Advisors LLC

Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 172.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,970 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $13,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $787,328,000 after purchasing an additional 42,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,351,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,193,000 after purchasing an additional 84,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.92. 4,606,697 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,871,585. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $103.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. 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 yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted 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 lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

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.