Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Cape Investment Advisory Inc.

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on DUK. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.85.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,864,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,080,167. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.63. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $104.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $409.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total transaction of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4 shares in the company, valued at approximately $409.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.