Payden & Rygel Sells 61,200 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Payden & Rygel decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 189,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 61,200 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for 1.5% of Payden & Rygel’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $22,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13,750.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,462 shares of company stock valued at $3,048,426. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.67.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $122.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.39 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.01. The stock has a market cap of $95.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Duke Energy 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.