Counterweight Ventures LLC Invests $953,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Counterweight Ventures LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.36. 2,668,062 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,517,638. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $104.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.96. The company has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.