Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Has $364,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 70.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction 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 $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction 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 $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.42.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

DUK stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,163,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,558,744. The company has a market cap of $82.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $108.59.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.