Principle Wealth Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,287 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.9% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 127,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,451,000 after buying an additional 11,445 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 8.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,264,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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. Resolution Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 7.6% in the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 59,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,318,000 after buying an additional 4,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 234,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,598,000 after buying an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research raised Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.36.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $128.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $123.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.29. The firm has a market cap of $100.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $130.03. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Duke Energy 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.