Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

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Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 152,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.05% of Duke Energy worth $994,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. GQG Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK traded up $0.0740 on Friday, hitting $124.2140. The stock had a trading volume of 2,182,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,581,155. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.20 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $96.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $119.63 and a 200-day moving average of $118.27.

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

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. The trade was a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Duke Energy

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.