Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $7.15 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 312,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,025,135. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $86.61 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $89.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.78. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.