O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 15,461 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,461 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Duke Energy by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 435,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,084,000 after buying an additional 13,406 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.58.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $108.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,792,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,891,127. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $102.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.21. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $108.92. The stock has a market cap of $83.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. 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 yield of 3.85%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.