Liberty One Investment Management LLC Sells 8,675 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 270,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises about 3.2% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $31,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,094,327,000 after buying an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Duke Energy by 1.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank set a $137.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.77.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. The trade was 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.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4%

DUK stock opened at $129.00 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $129.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.27%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.