Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Sells 468 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 468 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $261,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $11,086,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 7,653 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $115.22 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $118.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.91. 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 has a market cap of $89.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

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.