Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Financial Management Professionals Inc.

Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 664 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the first quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 37.5% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the first quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 17.9% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 13,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $100.22 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $104.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target 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 price target on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

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.