Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,570 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,157 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $698,923,000 after buying an additional 144,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,672,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,321,000 after buying an additional 124,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,205,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,952,000 after acquiring an additional 715,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

DUK stock opened at $102.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.37. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.06 and a fifty-two week high of $102.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.62.

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.