Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 462 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 295,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,082,000 after buying an additional 4,590 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 31,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 7,391 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.7% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 9,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. 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 research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $103.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,995,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,035,242. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $103.05. The stock has a market cap of $79.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.19 and a 200-day moving average of $94.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

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.