USS Investment Management Ltd Has $15.16 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its holdings in Duke Energy by 42.1%, owning 124,291 shares valued at approximately $15.16 million after selling 90,400 shares.
• Several large investors have increased their positions in Duke Energy, including Vanguard Group Inc. and GQG Partners LLC, with Vanguard now holding 74.56 million shares worth over $9 billion.
• Duke Energy declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, reflecting a 3.5% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 69.27%.

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 90,400 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $15,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. 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 during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,055,087,000 after buying an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $994,496,000 after buying an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $127.85. The company has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $121.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This is an increase from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% 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.

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.

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