The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by GTS Securities LLC

GTS Securities LLC lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 78.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,487 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 139.0% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 10,357 shares during the last quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 11,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 139.0% during the fourth quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 19,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 11,050 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 5,583 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 44,136 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded up $0.38 on Friday, hitting $89.13. 1,299,484 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,488,256. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.85 and a 200-day moving average of $87.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $76.87 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend 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.