TD Asset Management Inc Has $36.23 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Southern Company by 0.7% in Q1, acquiring an additional 2,669 shares, bringing its total ownership to 393,961 shares valued at approximately $36.2 million.
• Southern Company declared a $0.74 quarterly dividend, set to be paid on September 8th, with a current dividend yield of 3.11% and a payout ratio of 70.64%.
• CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares at $95 each, reducing her stake by 12.32%, while the stock has seen trading activity reflecting a recent 0.9% increase in share price.

TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 393,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,669 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Southern were worth $36,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 23.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.9% during the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 6,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the first quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southern from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp cut Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.20.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:SO traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,357,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,173,348. The company has a market cap of $104.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a one year low of $80.46 and a one year high of $96.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $91.27 and its 200-day moving average is $89.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 70.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.