Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 266,526 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has significantly reduced its position in Duke Energy Corporation by 99%, leaving it with just 2,828 shares valued at $345,000.
• Duke Energy recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 69.27%.
• Institutional investors own approximately 65.31% of Duke Energy's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the utilities provider.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 99.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 266,526 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $862,036,000 after acquiring an additional 499,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $521,322,000 after acquiring an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.07.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This 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 company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.1%

DUK stock traded up $0.0740 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $124.2140. 2,182,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,497,655. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $96.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $119.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.27. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.