Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 200,517 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply reduced its Southern Company stake in the fourth quarter, selling 200,517 shares and leaving it with 27,386 shares worth about $2.39 million.
• Southern reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.32 versus estimates of $1.21 and revenue of $8.40 billion, up 8% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $99.56.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 200,517 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Southern were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Southern by 320.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in Southern by 83.8% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 790.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.56.

Southern Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SO stock opened at $94.20 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.92 and a 200 day moving average of $91.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $83.80 and a 1-year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.36.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.