Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 424,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,934 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Duke Energy worth $42,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.8% in the second quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 278,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,173 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $324,000. LongView Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.7% in the second quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 8,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.7% in the second quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,267.8% in the second quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 54,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,484,000 after purchasing an additional 50,710 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $112.97. The stock had a trading volume of 853,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,935,399. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $116.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.85.

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.