Strategy Asset Managers LLC Purchases 7,542 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,542 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Duke Energy by 4,163.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 882,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,352,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $41,874,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,529,000 after purchasing an additional 387,038 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.91. 508,041 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,939,337. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $117.90. The company has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.