Procyon Advisors LLC Sells 2,966 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Procyon Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,966 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 19,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $96.30. 196,416 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,109,735. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The company has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.88.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI raised Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.