Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 2,804 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 31.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.92. 2,163,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,558,744. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $102.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $108.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.42.

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.