M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires Shares of 10,180 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities Inc. has acquired 10,180 shares of Duke Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $1,242,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings reported $1.25 earnings per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.29, while revenue increased by 4.7% year-over-year to $7.51 billion.
• Duke Energy has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, reflecting a 3.5% yield, and will be paid on September 16th.

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $309,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $222,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,666,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $179,591,000 after acquiring an additional 173,681 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,891,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $203,815,000 after acquiring an additional 49,150 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% 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 hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $131.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.80.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE DUK opened at $122.26 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $119.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.05. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. 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 $95.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.36.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.27%.

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.

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