Financial Advisors Network Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Financial Advisors Network Inc. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Financial Advisors Network Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9,164.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 979,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,031,000 after purchasing an additional 968,723 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 842,458 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Duke Energy by 242.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,348,000 after acquiring an additional 739,112 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,952,000 after acquiring an additional 715,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Duke Energy news, 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 value of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:DUK traded down $1.18 on Thursday, reaching $102.26. 608,998 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,992,805. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.60. 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’s 50 day moving average is $98.08 and its 200-day moving average is $95.45.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

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.