Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by GQG Partners LLC

Key Points

• GQG Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0%, acquiring over 10 million shares during the first quarter, making it the 19th largest position in their portfolio.
• Duke Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, up from the previous $1.05, indicating a strong dividend yield of 3.4%.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.25, which missed the consensus estimate by $0.04, while revenue exceeded expectations at $7.51 billion.

GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises 2.0% of GQG Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. GQG Partners LLC owned about 1.32% of Duke Energy worth $1,250,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $702,351,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $218,454,000 after purchasing an additional 585,600 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.80.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $2.00 on Friday, hitting $122.26. The company had a trading volume of 4,023,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,380,039. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $95.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $118.93 and a 200 day moving average of $117.88. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.