Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC trimmed its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $102.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,429,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,017,597. The firm has a market cap of $79.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $103.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.31.

Duke Energy Company 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.