Salvus Wealth Management LLC Acquires 216 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $45,523,000. Optas LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7%

DUK stock opened at $115.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

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.