The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Family Asset Management LLC

Family Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Family Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,572,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,444,343,000 after buying an additional 352,023 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,737,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,953,000 after acquiring an additional 163,986 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,988,000 after purchasing an additional 349,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded down $0.37 on Monday, reaching $75.48. 8,062,133 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,777,350. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.57 and a 200-day moving average of $69.74. The firm has a market cap of $82.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $76.28.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SO. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.