Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 35.4%, holding shares worth approximately $4.14 million.
• Duke Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend and a yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have a consensus target price of $130.62 and rate Duke Energy as a "Moderate Buy", with some firms raising their price targets to as high as $132.

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 35.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,946 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,872 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $592,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $202,858,000 after buying an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,768,397.72. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:DUK traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $120.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,158,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,485,418. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $127.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.52 and a 200-day moving average of $119.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.