The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Morton Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 45,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,765,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 139,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,725 shares during the period. Finally, Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $88.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $97.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.08. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.