Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 18.9% during the first quarter, now owning 1,665,803 shares valued at approximately $203 million.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, which signifies a 3.4% yield and an increase from the previous dividend of $1.05.
• Analyst ratings for Duke Energy show a mix, with nine analysts rating it a Buy and seven a Hold, and an average target price of $130.07.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,665,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 265,206 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.21% of Duke Energy worth $203,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded down $1.18 on Thursday, hitting $122.50. 2,496,426 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,436,299. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $120.29 and its 200 day moving average is $118.54. The stock has a market cap of $95.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.