Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 580,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,918 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $71,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 30,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,746,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 54,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in Duke Energy by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 6,460 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Duke Energy from $138.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:DUK opened at $116.85 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $120.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.35. The stock has a market cap of $90.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.