Morningstar Investment Management LLC Has $3.51 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,673 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.2% during 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in 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 holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 31,703 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Duke Energy and raised its longer-term earnings outlook, nudging up FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 EPS estimates. The firm also kept a $139 price target, suggesting confidence in Duke’s earnings growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy unveiled its Customer Protection Plus framework, designed to support rapid data center-driven power demand while aiming to deliver billions in customer savings. Investors may view this as a constructive way to monetize infrastructure growth without triggering excessive pushback from customers. Duke Energy (DUK) Unveils Customer Savings Plan To Back Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, reinforcing Duke Energy’s appeal as an income stock and helping attract dividend-focused investors. Can Duke Energy (DUK) Justify Its Price As Its Higher Dividend Draws Attention?
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina leaders and regulators are pressuring Duke Energy to make its federal data-center pledge legally binding. This could support accountability and customer trust, but it also raises regulatory scrutiny around future growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory criticism of Duke’s proposed rate increases remains a headwind, with North Carolina’s attorney general saying the lowered request is still too high. That could add pressure to future profitability if rate approvals become more difficult.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore raised their target price on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $134.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Ten equities 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $130.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.79. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.89 and a 12 month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.24%.

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.