Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 12,829 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,829 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $49,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2,608.3% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $39,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory progress — Duke secured settlement support for its planned Carolinas utility combination, clearing a key hurdle toward consolidation and potential regulatory approval that could simplify operations and reduce costs. Duke Energy secures settlement support for Carolinas utility combination
• Positive Sentiment: Clean-energy growth — Duke opened its largest battery-storage facility in Knightdale, expanding firming capacity for renewables and supporting long-term earnings stability as the utility transitions generation mix. Duke Energy’s largest battery storage facility now open in Knightdale
• Positive Sentiment: Community resilience programs — The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500k in HERO grants to strengthen emergency preparedness across South Carolina, a modest but constructive CSR/operational resilience signal. SC agencies, nonprofits eligible for Duke Energy’s $500K emergency preparedness grants
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt/maturity management — Duke completed a $1.5B offering of 3.000% convertible notes, which helps refinance near-term maturities and preserves liquidity, though convertibles carry potential future dilution. Duke Energy Completes $1.5 Billion Convertible Notes Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational update — Local outage restoration updates (e.g., New Whiteland) and community feeding programs show steady operational responsiveness but have limited market impact. Duke Energy: Power should be back on in New Whiteland by 4 p.m. Duke Energy teams up with Blessings in a Backpack to feed Floyd County students over spring break
• Negative Sentiment: Major equity raise announced — Duke disclosed a $6 billion common-stock offering, which is likely why some investors are cautious: a large follow-on can materially dilute existing shareholders and pressure the share price despite funding needs. Duke Energy (DUK) Announces $6 Billion Common Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political pushback — North Carolina residents are raising alarms over rising energy bills and pushing for audits amid rate-hike requests; public opposition can complicate ratemaking and future returns. NC residents sound alarm over rising energy bills, demand audit of Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Local legal dispute — A homeowner is fighting Duke in a high-profile Lake Norman boats lawsuit, a reputational/legal overhang with modest direct financial risk but possible local regulatory attention. Woman fights Duke Energy lawsuit that wants her famous big boats off Lake Norman

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.80.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0%

DUK stock opened at $133.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $123.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.62. Duke Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $111.22 and a fifty-two week high of $134.12.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

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.