6,245 Shares in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Purchased by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd has invested approximately $737,000 by acquiring 6,245 shares of Duke Energy Corporation during the 2nd quarter.
• Duke Energy recently disclosed a quarterly dividend increase to $1.065 with an annualized yield of 3.5%.
• Despite reporting lower-than-expected earnings per share of $1.25, Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was $7.51 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.

Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $737,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $4,998,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $2,836,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 4,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.1%

Duke Energy stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $122.91. The company had a trading volume of 740,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,458,470. The firm's fifty day moving average is $121.87 and its 200-day moving average is $119.38. 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 capitalization of $95.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 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 business had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. 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. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

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.