83,650 Shares in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Bought by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 83,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,953,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Duke Energy by 62.7% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,003,000 after purchasing an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,534,000 after purchasing an additional 24,497 shares during the last quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 423.6% during the 4th quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 359,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,137 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 187.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 78,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,177,000 after buying an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore upped their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $129.44 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.89 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.78.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. 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.