Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Reduced by Agate Pass Investment Management LLC

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 12.6% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 12,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 17,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 17.3% during the second quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 7,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE DUK traded up $0.33 on Tuesday, hitting $113.70. 2,732,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,967,273. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $116.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $87.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.59.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.68%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.69.

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.