Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Sells 2,062 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 57.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 9,917 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Duke Energy by 63.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 17,420 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 108,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,334 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the first quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 7,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $119.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $86.61 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.40 and a 200-day moving average of $107.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 105.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.