Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Has $1.76 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.1% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 45,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 140.9% in the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 30,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 18,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.6% in the first quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.33.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of DUK traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,898,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,126. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $104.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.45. 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 capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

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.