Vise Technologies Inc. Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 139.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,357 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $1,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on SO shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Mizuho increased their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.21.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded up $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $88.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,002,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,489,894. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $76.64 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

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.