Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. grew its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.78. The company had a trading volume of 4,788,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,990,113. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.94.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.