SageView Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,507 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Howard Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 25,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.85.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE DUK traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.17. 1,864,573 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,080,167. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $104.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.58. 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 has a market cap of $78.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Duke Energy news, EVP Julia S. Janson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.79, for a total transaction of $1,027,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,253.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.