The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,603,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,704 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 2.1% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Southern worth $147,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $364,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 172.4% in the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 4,709 shares during the period. Level Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 85,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,049,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 21,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,735,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.48. 1,257,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,503,104. The company has a market cap of $98.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $76.96 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

About Southern

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.