ING Groep NV Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 90.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,609 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 106,434 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $21,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director E Marie Mckee sold 1,695 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.31, for a total value of $173,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4 shares in the company, valued at $409.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn J. Good sold 15,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 437,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,190,031.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,695 shares of company stock worth $2,750,815 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of DUK traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.89. 3,694,076 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,095,000. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $103.93. The stock has a market cap of $80.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.31.

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.

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