Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Sells 968 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. decreased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 1.4% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 5,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $537,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 192,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,753,000 after acquiring an additional 21,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.88.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:DUK opened at $117.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.86. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $104.02 and a 12 month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

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.