Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,829 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $113.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,022,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,948,703. The firm has a market cap of $87.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. 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 price of $107.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

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.