Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Purchased by Leonteq Securities AG

Leonteq Securities AG boosted its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 83.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring 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.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after buying an additional 31,703 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on DUK shares. Evercore lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Nine 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $129.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.06 and its 200-day moving average is $124.78.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. 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%.

Duke Energy 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.