Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 67,092 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,985,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,092 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $245,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $7,516,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 33,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,103,000 after acquiring an additional 7,612 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 31.7% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 19,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 4,709 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Duke Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $105.20 and a 52 week high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.