Johnson Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Johnson Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 75.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,178 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% during 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 in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 53.7% during the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.44.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $123.77 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The company has a market cap of $96.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $124.57 and its 200 day moving average is $121.08.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

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.