2,794 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by Richardson Financial Services Inc.

Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.36. 2,668,062 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,517,638. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.40 and a 200-day moving average of $97.01. The company has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $104.87.

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. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’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 value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

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.