Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Buys 3,189 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,189 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 49.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, reaching $98.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 112,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,959,876. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.13. The company has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.