Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 3,063 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 77,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,063 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,675,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,835,047,000 after buying an additional 324,289 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,493,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,521,000 after buying an additional 352,320 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,471,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,672,000 after buying an additional 40,243 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,973,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,845,000 after buying an additional 31,309 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Duke Energy by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,816,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,101,000 after purchasing an additional 240,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $118.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.13. The stock has a market cap of $90.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is a boost 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Seven investment 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.36.

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.