Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Reliant Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Reliant Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 7.9%, owning 65,095 shares after selling 5,577 shares, which constitutes about 8.1% of its investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including GQG Partners LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., have significantly increased their holdings in Duke Energy during the first quarter, with GQG increasing its stake by 17,880.0%.
• Duke Energy announced a new quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, up from $1.05, with a yield of 3.5%, to be paid on September 16th.

Reliant Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,577 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises approximately 8.1% of Reliant Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Reliant Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company'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 value of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,136,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,491,651. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $105.20 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $121.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.15.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.62.

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.