Pitcairn Co. Sells 7,352 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Pitcairn Co. lessened its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 55.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,352 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. TD Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $123.21 and its 200-day moving average is $121.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.