Savant Capital LLC Sells 11,531 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC reduced its stake in Southern Company by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,531 shares and leaving it with 218,592 shares worth about $19.1 million.
• Southern reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.32 versus the $1.21 estimate and revenue of $8.40 billion, which beat expectations and rose 8% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share from $0.74, bringing the annualized payout to $3.04 and a yield of about 3.3%.

Savant Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 218,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,531 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $19,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Southern by 320.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,179,425,000 after purchasing an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,381,344,000 after purchasing an additional 384,860 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Southern by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,532,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,628,000 after purchasing an additional 285,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Southern by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,265,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $371,938,000 after purchasing an additional 255,230 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $92.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $104.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.84. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore raised Southern from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Seven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.56.

Southern Profile

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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