Sachetta LLC Sells 125 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Sachetta LLC reduced its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 35.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $28,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after purchasing an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $916,168,000 after buying an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $862,036,000 after buying an additional 499,652 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $117.55 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.95. The firm has a market cap of $91.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.37.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on DUK. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.25.

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.