Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 184,891 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 20.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,102,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,891 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Duke Energy worth $134,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,088,158,000 after purchasing an additional 418,014 shares in 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 worth $1,055,087,000 after purchasing an additional 93,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,153,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,496,000 after purchasing an additional 152,542 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $121.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $121.42 and its 200 day moving average is $119.15.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.27%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.