Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 98.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 590,398 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 98.1% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 360.0% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the 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 owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,768,397.72. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total value of $248,760.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.20 and a 12 month high of $127.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 15.51%.Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.27%.

Duke Energy 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.