Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 4,561 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 304,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,561 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $29,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 437,464 shares in the company, valued at $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 725,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,989,707. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.60. The company has a market cap of $78.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. KeyCorp increased their target price on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.85.

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.