Spire Wealth Management Sells 292 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Spire Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 295,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,082,000 after buying an additional 4,590 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 31.2% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 31,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 7,391 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11.7% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 9,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $102.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.96 and a 200-day moving average of $94.37. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $102.64.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.31 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.