Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Leonteq Securities AG

Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 83.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,231 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $129.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $125.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.78. 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 quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.24%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.