Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 2,241 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Birmingham Capital Management reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 7.6%, selling 2,241 shares and bringing its total ownership to 27,353 shares valued at approximately $3.34 million.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 65.31% of Duke Energy's stock, with several firms like GQG Partners LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• Duke Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend.

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL decreased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,241 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for about 1.3% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 88.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $121.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business's 50 day moving average price is $121.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.07. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85. The stock has a market cap of $94.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share 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%. Duke Energy's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

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.

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