Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $110.73 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $85.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 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, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.