Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 19,167 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking trimmed its stake in Southern by 2.4%, selling 19,167 shares and now holds 790,152 shares valued at about $68.9 million (roughly 0.07% of the company).
• Company insiders sold stock: CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares at an average of $96.67 (a 19.44% reduction in her position) and EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares.
• Dividend increased: Southern raised its quarterly payout to $0.76 (from $0.74), an annualized $3.04 dividend with a ~3.2% yield; the ex-dividend date is May 18 and payment is June 8.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 790,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,167 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.07% of Southern worth $68,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on Southern and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.08.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.08. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $106.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's payout ratio is 75.32%.

About Southern

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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