Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 298 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Bank of America raised their target price on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $113.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,022,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,195,060. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.32. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

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.