Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Decreases Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 304,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $30,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $112.36. 2,732,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,961,570. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

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.