The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 644 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 1.0% of Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 38.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,988 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Southern by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,518,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,857 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Southern by 6,303.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,812 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in Southern by 8,375.3% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 849,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,989,000 after buying an additional 839,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 24.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,480,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,558,000 after acquiring an additional 485,562 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded up $1.09 on Wednesday, reaching $74.59. 1,279,951 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,683,626. The company has a market capitalization of $81.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day moving average of $69.50. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

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.