Bollard Group LLC Has $23.26 Million Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bollard Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,363 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 0.7% of Bollard Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $23,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Elm Partners Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Elm Partners Management LLC now owns 9,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of DUK opened at $130.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.79. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.085 dividend. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Duke Energy

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.