Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Waddell & Associates LLC

Waddell & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 6.5% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake 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 worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.25 on Friday, hitting $116.60. 3,482,508 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,953,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $118.11. The company has a market capitalization of $89.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $109.51 and its 200 day moving average is $102.17.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy 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.