Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $1.54 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 47.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,947 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.8% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 209,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,997,000 after purchasing an additional 15,161 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 20.0% during the second quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 14,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 558,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,023,000 after purchasing an additional 10,003 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

DUK stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,022,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,948,703. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.96 and a 200 day moving average of $101.26. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $116.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

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.