Sollinda Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sollinda Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 573 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises approximately 0.3% of Sollinda Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Sollinda Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 56.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.9% in the third quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 2,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 27.1% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 87,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,114,000 after purchasing an additional 18,702 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 20.3% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 2.2 %

DUK traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $112.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,713,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,044,565. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.14. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $86.61 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Duke Energy

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.