Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 44,704 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,603,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,704 shares during the quarter. Southern makes up about 2.1% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.15% of Southern worth $147,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Emprise Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.21.

Southern Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:SO traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.94. The stock had a trading volume of 10,681,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,526,481. The company has a market cap of $98.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.25. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.96 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Southern's payout ratio is currently 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.