9,301 Shares in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Purchased by Advisortrust Partners LLC

Advisortrust Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 9,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $954,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore raised their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.07.

Duke Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy is being highlighted as one of the large-cap dividend stocks that retirees are quietly buying, reinforcing its appeal as a steady income name for investors looking for yield and defensive cash flow. 3 Stocks Retirees Are Quietly Loading Up on in June
• Positive Sentiment: Another article also grouped Duke Energy with other utility stocks viewed as sources of passive income, which may support investor interest in the stock’s defensive dividend profile. 3 Utility Stocks For Years of Passive Income
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its price target on Duke Energy only modestly to $135 from $139 while keeping an outperform rating, suggesting analysts still see upside from current levels. Mizuho PT Lowered to $135 at Mizuho
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy Florida issued a customer energy-use reminder ahead of summer, which is routine utility communications and not likely to materially move the stock. Summer starts June 21: Duke Energy Florida highlights five key appliances to help customers manage energy use
• Neutral Sentiment: Several local outage reports and safety demonstrations are operational headlines that reflect day-to-day utility issues rather than a major change in Duke Energy’s earnings outlook. Duke Energy: Hundreds of customers without power in Greenville County
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage about a regulator sitting out Duke Energy carbon plan decisions and a separate story about a city examining whether to leave the utility add a bit of regulatory and political uncertainty. Pro-coal state regulator won’t participate in Duke Energy Carbon Plan decisions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading commentary noted that Duke Energy has been declining more than the broader market, indicating some near-term pressure on shares. Duke Energy (DUK) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $123.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.06.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

About Duke Energy

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.