Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Coldstream Capital Management Inc.

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 valued at $1,111,521,000 after acquiring an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $787,328,000 after acquiring an additional 42,782 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $228,193,000 after acquiring an additional 84,227 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,845,000 after acquiring an additional 31,309 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.41 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 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 firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

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.