Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 59.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,896 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research upgraded Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.00.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $123.71 on Thursday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $130.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.07 and a 200 day moving average of $120.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $96.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.