Capital Wealth Planning LLC Sells 1,016,644 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 51.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 956,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,016,644 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.0% of Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Capital Wealth Planning LLC owned 0.12% of Duke Energy worth $95,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $118.18.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

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.