Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Duke Energy by 37.9% during the second quarter, now holding 3,735 shares valued at approximately $441,000.
• Institutional investors currently own 65.31% of Duke Energy’s stock, highlighting significant interest from large financial entities.
• Duke Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend, and it has provided FY 2025 earnings guidance of 6.170-6.420 EPS.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,280 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% during 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 in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in 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 period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,055,087,000 after buying an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $994,496,000 after purchasing an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:DUK traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $120.84. 475,122 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,464,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $121.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.34. The firm has a market cap of $93.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during 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%.Duke Energy's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.62.

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.