Transform Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Transform Wealth LLC cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 342 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after acquiring an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $116.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $90.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.93.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $126.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. 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 report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus 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.