FineMark National Bank & Trust Has $8.39 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 74.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 83,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,753 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 75,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,330,000 after buying an additional 2,485 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Duke Energy by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 109.4% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following 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 is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $90.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.82.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. 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 prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

About Duke Energy

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.