Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 5,005 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,005 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.61 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.77.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.81.

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.