Trust Point Inc. Sells 368 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Trust Point Inc. reduced its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 368 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $120.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $85.79 and a 12 month high of $120.85.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.