Columbia Asset Management Sells 1,776 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,776 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 9,917 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 182.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,786,000 after acquiring an additional 25,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $2,565,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $118.11.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly 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 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

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.