Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $63.02 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer boosted its Southern Company stake by 123.9% in Q4, ending with 721,571 shares worth about $63.0 million.
• Southern beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.32 EPS versus $1.21 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, implying a 3.3% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with a consensus price target of $99.85.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 123.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 721,571 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 399,289 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.07% of Southern worth $63,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,422,606,000 after buying an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,628,000 after buying an additional 285,546 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Southern by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,265,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,938,000 after purchasing an additional 255,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This trade represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.85.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SO stock opened at $93.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $104.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 75.32%.

Southern Profile

Southern Company NYSE: SO is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern's principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.

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