BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 63.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,420 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $102.14. The company had a trading volume of 684,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,896,058. The firm has a market cap of $78.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.61.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate 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.