Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. trimmed its Duke Energy stake by 4.9% in 4Q, selling 825,100 shares and now holds 16,044,472 shares (about 2.06% of the company) valued at roughly $1.88 billion.
• Company insiders sold stock in February — SVP Regis T. Repko (962 shares) and CEO Louis E. Renjel (6,800 shares) — leaving insiders with only about 0.12% ownership.
• Duke slightly beat quarterly EPS ($1.50 vs. $1.49) and revenue estimates, trades near $131.90 with a market cap around $102.6 billion, and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a consensus target of $139.33.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,044,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 825,100 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.06% of Duke Energy worth $1,880,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,442,269,000 after purchasing an additional 584,382 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,281,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,146,000 after purchasing an additional 288,499 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,033,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $622,862,000 after purchasing an additional 12,758 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $323,432,000 after purchasing an additional 419,992 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This trade represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $131.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $102.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.89.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DUK. Evercore restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.33.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company's core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.

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