Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes $12.75 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 130,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,749,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the second quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.21.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.05. 3,322,971 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,992,161. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $118.31. The company has a market capitalization of $88.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.46. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $114.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 105.03%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.