Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Invests $10.95 Million in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund bought a new stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 83,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,953,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $960,139,000 after buying an additional 31,703 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $139.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of DUK opened at $129.44 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.