Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,656,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,055,087,000 after buying an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $994,496,000 after buying an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $123.58 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This trade represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $832,542.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.25.

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.