Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after acquiring an additional 324,289 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,111,521,000 after purchasing an additional 352,320 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,515,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,599,000 after purchasing an additional 842,458 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,113,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $787,328,000 after buying an additional 42,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,351,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,193,000 after buying an additional 84,227 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $112.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.99 billion, a P/E 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 current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.84 and a 200 day moving average of $100.18. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $83.06 and a one year high of $116.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.15.

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.