Raymond James Financial Inc. Has $592.93 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 88.1%, acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 4.86 million shares valued at $592.93 million.
• Duke Energy's quarterly earnings fell short of analysts' expectations, reporting $1.25 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 EPS, despite a revenue increase to $7.51 billion.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.065 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $4.26 and a yield of 3.5%, reflecting a boost from the previous quarter’s dividend.

Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 88.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,276,948 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.63% of Duke Energy worth $592,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 360.0% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.80.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Duke Energy stock traded up $0.5920 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.3720. The stock had a trading volume of 2,617,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,591,676. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $96.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $119.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.15.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 69.27%.

Duke Energy Company 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.