TCW Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 12,174 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,031,000 after purchasing an additional 968,723 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Duke Energy by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after purchasing an additional 715,069 shares during the last quarter. 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 Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.17. 1,864,573 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,080,167. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.63. The firm has a market cap of $78.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank dropped 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. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.85.

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.