Modera Wealth Management LLC Has $2.17 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 182.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 39,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,786,000 after buying an additional 25,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded up $0.95 on Friday, hitting $113.94. 3,022,369 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,948,703. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $116.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $87.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

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.