Golden State Wealth Management LLC Purchases 531 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 13.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 285.9% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 5,776 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth $227,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 19,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 8,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of DUK opened at $124.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $96.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $130.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.82.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

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.