Claro Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $500,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 10,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 558,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,171,000 after purchasing an additional 14,458 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 35,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 11,951 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.95. 3,022,442 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,195,060. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $107.96 and its 200-day moving average is $101.32. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $116.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.