Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by TrinityPoint Wealth LLC

TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 60.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,252 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,364 shares during the quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 65,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,519,000 after buying an additional 15,402 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 580.7% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 99,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,712,000 after purchasing an additional 84,816 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 55,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,005,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $2,383,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7%

DUK stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.47. 2,769,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,425,787. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.59. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

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.