Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,172 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’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 owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’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 owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $100.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,929,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,201,042. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.