36,547 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Acquired by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,563,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,572,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,444,343,000 after acquiring an additional 352,023 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,737,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $694,953,000 after acquiring an additional 163,986 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $634,988,000 after acquiring an additional 349,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $488,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,988 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

Southern stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.59. The company had a trading volume of 4,709,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,582,500. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year 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. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.89. The stock has a market cap of $77.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $706,526.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

About Southern

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.