Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.

Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 912 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.2% of Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $117.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.13. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $118.31. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.

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.