Cohen & Steers Inc. Buys 5,683 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,683 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $26,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,396,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,970,324. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.17 and a 200-day moving average of $96.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $104.87.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company’s 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 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.75.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.