Bokf Na Sells 26,364 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bokf Na decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,364 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $17,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.68. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $118.18.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.