Waverly Advisors LLC Has $3.53 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 103.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,552 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,786,000 after acquiring an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $109.43. 1,484,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,890,323. The company has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.89 and a 200-day moving average of $98.48. 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 one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $110.02.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the 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 this link. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.