United Asset Strategies Inc. Raises Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4,166.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 105,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 103,127 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy accounts for 1.1% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 53.7% in the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 360.0% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $123.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $124.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.87. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The company has a market capitalization of $96.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

About Duke Energy

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.