Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Has $658,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Duke Energy by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Duke Energy by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 62,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 20,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $115.36 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $89.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.81.

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.