Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 19,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $98.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,212,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,299,082. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.32. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.