Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 3,764 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management has increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 16.6%, acquiring an additional 3,764 shares, bringing its total holdings to 26,373 shares worth approximately $3.1 million.
• Several institutions recently increased their investments in Duke Energy, with over 65% of the stock now owned by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Duke Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend, with an annualized yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 69.27%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,764 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 360.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Duke Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $141.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction 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 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 insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $123.58 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $122.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.27%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.