Allstate Corp Sells 98 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Allstate Corp reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after purchasing an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $787,328,000 after purchasing an additional 42,782 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,351,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,193,000 after purchasing an additional 84,227 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.62 on Monday, reaching $107.54. 2,373,219 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,908,950. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $108.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.09. The company has a market cap of $83.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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 owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.58.

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.