D.B. Root & Company LLC Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

D.B. Root & Company LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,282 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 118.5% during the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 5,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 20,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,701 shares during the period. Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 176.2% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 18,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 11,740 shares during the period. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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 research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.33.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $100.23. 3,898,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.37 and a 200 day moving average of $97.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, 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 this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.