Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Decreases Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. has reduced its stake in Southern Company by 8.6% in the first quarter, now holding 103,579 shares worth approximately $9.5 million.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock for around $1.25 million, which reduced her ownership by 12.32%.
• Southern Company's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 15.10% and revenue growth of 7.9% year-over-year, despite missing earnings expectations.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,759 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $9,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Southern by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 11,230.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $179,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,965 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 562.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,288 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,208,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,794,000 after purchasing an additional 979,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1,747.3% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 896,323 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,785,000 after buying an additional 847,803 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $94.75. 4,148,246 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,395,827. The firm has a market cap of $104.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.80. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. 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, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.29.

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.