Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Key Points

• Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation by 39.6% during the 1st quarter, selling 37,839 shares and leaving them with 57,671 shares valued at approximately $7.03 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Duke Energy, with the average target price now at $129.80 and nine analysts rating the stock as a Buy.
• Duke Energy recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.065, representing an annualized yield of 3.4%, with payments scheduled for September 16th to shareholders on record by August 15th.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 39.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,671 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,839 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors 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% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.0740 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $124.2140. 2,182,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,497,655. 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 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 has a 50 day moving average of $119.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.35. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $127.85.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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. Finally, 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. Nine investment 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Company 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.