Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Sells 1,494 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,494 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 101.2% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE DUK opened at $114.41 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $88.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $86.61 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

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.