Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Has $3.63 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. increased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,136 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,225 shares during the period. Southern comprises 2.1% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s holdings in Southern were worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Syverson Strege & Co increased its stake in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,676,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in Southern by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Southern by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $89.71 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a one year low of $76.64 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.03 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern 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.

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