Vise Technologies Inc. Takes $4.37 Million Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 37,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,369,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 3,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 7.2% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $294,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 35.5% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 7,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Duke Energy stock opened at $123.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $130.03. The stock has a market cap of $95.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.84.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.