Occidental Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 140.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,051 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at $7,057,253.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total value of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.33.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of DUK stock traded down $0.36 on Friday, hitting $100.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,898,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.43. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $104.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.