Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy Corporation by 131.4% in the 1st quarter, resulting in holdings valued at approximately $1 million.
• Duke Energy recently reported an **EPS of $1.25**, falling short of the $1.29 consensus estimate, despite a revenue increase of 4.7% year-over-year to **$7.51 billion**.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of **$1.065 per share**, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend, with a yield of **3.5%**.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 131.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,658 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after buying an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth about $702,351,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $202,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK traded down $0.3740 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.1060. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,237,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,583,781. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $119.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.36. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $127.85.

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 company had revenue of $7.51 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.