Ballast Inc. Acquires 428 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Ballast Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4,163.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 882,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,352,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after buying an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,141,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,081,125,000 after buying an additional 509,039 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $41,874,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 96.1% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 789,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,529,000 after acquiring an additional 387,038 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.72 on Monday, reaching $113.39. 3,058,645 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,968,795. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $116.67. The company has a market cap of $87.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ninety days, insiders sold 17,235 shares of company stock worth $1,784,281. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven equities 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.69.

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.