American National Bank & Trust Has $428,000 Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1,120.2%, acquiring a total of 3,624 shares valued at approximately $428,000.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 65.31% of Duke Energy's stock, indicating significant institutional interest.
• Duke Energy recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, up from the previous $1.05, reflecting a positive trend in its financial performance.

American National Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 1,120.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,327 shares during the quarter. American National Bank & Trust's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $592,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of DUK stock opened at $122.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $95.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.50. 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 $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Duke Energy Company 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.

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