Alley Investment Management Company LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,765 shares during the quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $2.27 on Friday, reaching $103.57. 3,975,956 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,995,990. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.04 and a 200-day moving average of $96.05. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $104.60.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.46.

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.