Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $32.82 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $32,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This represents a 52.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $2.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $87.90. 2,098,523 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,392,584. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $90.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.27. The Southern Company has a one year low of $76.64 and a one year high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

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.