Meyer Handelman Co. Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Meyer Handelman Co. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,830 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,934,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,783 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,684,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,205,070,000 after purchasing an additional 319,001 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after purchasing an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,088,158,000 after buying an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,691,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,025,244,000 after buying an additional 34,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on DUK. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2%

DUK stock opened at $117.21 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $130.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.21.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.