Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Invests $240,000 in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. 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 worth $42,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its position 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 last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Duke Energy by 63.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after buying an additional 17,420 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,888,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.05 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.40. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $85.79 and a 1 year high of $120.09. The stock has a market cap of $92.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

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.