Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 10.6%, selling 2,294 shares and ending the first quarter with a total of 19,325 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million.
• Duke Energy's recent quarterly earnings report indicated a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $1.25 compared to an expected $1.29, but experienced a 4.7% year-over-year revenue growth to $7.51 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $1.05 to $1.065 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.5% with a payout ratio of 69.27%.

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,294 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $702,351,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $521,322,000 after acquiring an additional 625,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of DUK traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $124.08. 2,084,316 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,589,949. The company has a market cap of $96.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $127.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.20. 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 (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company'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. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. 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. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

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.