Swiss National Bank Has $277.27 Million Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,240,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 111,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $277,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 25,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Duke Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $136.87.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:DUK opened at $132.53 on Monday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $111.22 and a 12 month high of $132.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.58 and its 200 day moving average is $122.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.065 dividend. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.41%.

Duke Energy Company 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.