Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 766,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,156 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Duke Energy worth $76,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $112.72 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $105.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.18. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $116.67. The company has a market cap of $86.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 105.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.