Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,075 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 72.6% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,683,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 27,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of DUK opened at $120.07 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $86.61 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

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.