Wambolt & Associates LLC Sells 1,481 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 182.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after acquiring an additional 25,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Duke Energy by 63.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 17,420 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the 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 $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $115.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.86 and a 200 day moving average of $102.77. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank increased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

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.