Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2%, acquiring an additional 3,000 shares to reach a total of 140,000 shares valued at approximately $17.1 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and GQG Partners LLC, have raised their positions significantly in Duke Energy, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Duke Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, up from $1.05, reflecting a 3.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 69.27%.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $17,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $121.96. 2,136,379 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,491,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $121.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.15. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $127.85. The firm has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.