Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Lessened by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 11.7% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 16,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.7% during the third quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 475.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 23.2% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 257,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,707,000 after acquiring an additional 48,514 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

DUK traded down $1.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.37. 312,410 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,025,135. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.85.

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.