Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Acquires 2,514 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 65.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,514 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.0% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.39 on Thursday, hitting $108.99. The company had a trading volume of 884,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,884,619. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $84.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $110.02.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost 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 3.84%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 103.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.58.

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.