SVB Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

SVB Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 73.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,468 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 35,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $954,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.07.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $96.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.11.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.