Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 670 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,945,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 65,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,624,000 after buying an additional 2,691 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Up 0.2 %

SO traded up $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,930,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,790,199. 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 52 week low of $61.56 and a 52 week high of $77.15. The stock has a market cap of $84.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.82.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.71.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Company 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.