Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Has $2.52 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC more than doubled its Duke Energy stake in the first quarter, increasing holdings by 109.6% to 19,276 shares worth about $2.52 million.
• Duke Energy continues to attract broad institutional interest, with major investors like Vanguard, Amundi, and Franklin Resources also boosting positions; institutional ownership now stands at 65.31%.
• The utility posted solid results and income returns, beating quarterly earnings estimates with $1.93 EPS and raising its appeal as a dividend stock with a 3.3% yield; however, regulatory pressure over rate hikes remains a key risk.

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 109.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,080 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after buying an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Duke Energy by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $312,067,000 after buying an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $200,598,000 after acquiring an additional 777,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being highlighted as a defensive stock in a higher-inflation, higher-rate environment, which can attract income-oriented investors looking for stability and dividends. Buy 4 Defensive Stocks as Inflation Hits Highest Level in 3 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated an Outperform rating on Duke Energy, saying it can execute despite near-term regulatory challenges; the firm also maintained a higher price target than the current trading range. Mizuho Says Duke Energy (DUK) Can Execute Despite Near-Term Regulatory Challenges
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy’s efforts to harden the grid ahead of hurricane season, including “self-healing” upgrades, could support reliability and reduce outage risk over time. Duke Energy prepares for hurricane season with “self-healing” upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also being discussed as a high-dividend blue-chip utility, reinforcing its appeal as a steady income name rather than a growth stock. Is Duke Energy (DUK) One of the Best S&P 500 Stocks to Buy for Dividends?
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina’s attorney general still says Duke’s revised request for an 11.6% rate hike is too high, keeping regulatory pressure front and center for the stock. Duke Energy cuts proposed NC rate hike to 11.6%, still too high, AG says
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh headlines about a lawsuit over Duke’s solar procurement pause and local service disruptions, including an Asheville outage, add to concerns about operations and public scrutiny. Lawsuit targets Duke Energy solar pause that could raise customer bills Power outage hits downtown Asheville; underground equipment damaged: Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Community pushback in places like Clearwater and Swain County over Duke projects suggests continued local resistance that could slow development or raise costs. Clearwater considers replacing Duke Energy with city-owned electric utility Swain property owners express Duke Needmore route concerns

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $128.35 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $113.89 and a 12-month high of $134.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Duke Energy 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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