Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Apexium Financial LP

Apexium Financial LP lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE DUK opened at $124.2140 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $96.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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 on 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 directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,438,843.04. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.