Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 2,011 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,011 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.79. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.32%.

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.