Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Sells 720 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,127,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,895,275. 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 one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $110.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $102.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.35. The stock has a market cap of $83.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.58.

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.