Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stake Reduced by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised 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 worth $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 worth $1,088,158,000 after acquiring an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 worth $1,055,087,000 after acquiring an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $994,496,000 after acquiring an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on DUK. Evercore ISI began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.08.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $127.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $105.20 and a fifty-two week high of $129.51. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $123.27 and its 200-day moving average is $120.08.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $7.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Duke Energy’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 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.