Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bruce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 205,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 24,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after buying an additional 5,977 shares during the period. Pine Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.2% during the second quarter. Pine Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the second quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Williams Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $593,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $118.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.12.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.