Jennison Associates LLC Sells 5,502 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,502 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $33,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Elm Partners Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Elm Partners Management LLC now owns 9,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.47.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Carolinas reached a new settlement that would cut its requested rate hike by more than half, signaling a compromise with regulators that could improve the odds of approval and reduce uncertainty around the company’s North Carolina utility earnings. Duke Energy Carolinas halves its rate hike request in new settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Duke Energy lowered its proposed rate increase after public and state pushback, which may ease political pressure and support a more manageable path to recovering costs from customers. Duke Energy reaches North Carolina rate deal that would cut proposed increase by more than half
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial raised its price target to $138, and BMO still rates the stock “outperform” even after cutting its target to $134, suggesting analysts continue to see upside in Duke Energy shares. Benzinga report on BMO price target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector commentary from Zacks highlighted Duke Energy as one of several regulated utilities benefiting from grid upgrades and clean-energy investment themes, but this was broader industry context rather than a company-specific catalyst. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, American Electric Power and Ameren
• Neutral Sentiment: Some valuation-focused coverage argued DUK could be overvalued after the recent rate-case pushback, which adds a cautious note but is not as immediate a driver as the settlement news. Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Could Be 29% Overvalued After Rate Case Pushback

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $125.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $124.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.53. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.89 and a 1 year high of $134.49. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This trade represents a 17.23% 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.

About Duke Energy

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.