Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,538 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 769.2% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 4,377 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.3% in the third quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 355,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,342,000 after purchasing an additional 14,670 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $245,000. Finally, Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 21,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.17. 1,864,573 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,080,167. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.37 and a 200-day moving average of $95.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.85.

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.