Diversified Trust Co Grows Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Duke Energy by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter, purchasing an additional 3,180 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,610 shares valued at approximately $1.72 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GQG Partners LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., made significant stakes in Duke Energy, with GQG Partners increasing their stake by over 17,880% in the 1st quarter.
• Duke Energy's quarterly earnings report revealed a miss in earnings per share at $1.25, below the anticipated $1.29, while revenue of $7.51 billion exceeded expectations.

Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,180 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 338.6% in the first quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 29,153 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 7.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 291,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,942 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in Duke Energy by 9.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,451,000 after purchasing an additional 11,445 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 8.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.62.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% 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.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $0.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $121.71. 2,061,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,513,562. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.79 and a 200-day moving average of $119.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Duke Energy 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.