Excalibur Management Corp lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) by 27.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,705 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. CIBC World Markets Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC World Markets Inc. now owns 46,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 130,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,716,000 after buying an additional 4,180 shares during the last quarter. MD Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. MD Financial Management Inc. now owns 25,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, CFO Steven K. Young sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.87, for a total transaction of $45,596.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 113,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,487,494.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven K. Young sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.87, for a total transaction of $45,596.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 113,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,487,494.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Dhiaa M. Jamil sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total value of $76,951.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 58,957 shares in the company, valued at $6,481,143.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,404 shares of company stock worth $811,817 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.79 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 12th were paid a $1.005 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 81.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. Mizuho cut their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Monday, July 18th. UBS Group cut Duke Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $122.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.10.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, renewable generation, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity.

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