Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 77.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,895 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,115 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 69,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,753,000 after purchasing an additional 5,127 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 8,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,206,000. Sfmg LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,617 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.17.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DUK traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $95.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,638,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,770. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $100.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $94.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.22.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.