17,069 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Trust Point Inc.

Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 17,069 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,197,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $435,979,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $369,131,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5,840.2% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,949,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $194,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,857 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $70.05. 6,207,803 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,586,086. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $68.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.91. The stock has a market cap of $76.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.49. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Southern's quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,291,435.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total value of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup started coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.14.

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.