International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 1,117,526 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13,829.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.15% of Duke Energy worth $129,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.5% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,517,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% during the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 15,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.9% during the third quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 18,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 10.4% during the third quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 8,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company’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 directly owns 19,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.33. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $86.61 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company 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 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.