Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,546 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 20.4% in the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $1,567,000. United Community Bank boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 264.8% in the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 24,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 18,020 shares during the period. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $534,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.77. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $116.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.95. The company has a market capitalization of $91.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.