MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $19.44 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 276,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,184 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $19,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,070,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,830,000 after purchasing an additional 282,291 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 28.6% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 167,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,764,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the period. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $329,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the second quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.85% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SO opened at $69.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.67 and a 200-day moving average of $69.34. The company has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.55. The Southern Company has a one year low of $58.85 and a one year high of $75.80.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Southern from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Southern from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $67.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total transaction of $693,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,868.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total transaction of $693,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,990,868.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.83, for a total transaction of $339,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,226,693.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,490 shares of company stock worth $2,146,405. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through three segments: Gas Distribution Operations, Gas Pipeline Investments, and Gas Marketing Services. 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.