Mechanics Bank Trust Department Has $2.02 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4,163.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 882,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,352,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $799,599,000 after acquiring an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,125,000 after purchasing an additional 509,039 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,874,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 96.1% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,529,000 after purchasing an additional 387,038 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Monday, June 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,218,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,968,208. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.46. The company has a market capitalization of $86.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. 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 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.