81,094 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Purchased by Executive Wealth Management LLC

Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 81,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 23.4% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 33.5% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 63.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 35.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,776,000 after buying an additional 239,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.77. 8,425,056 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,638,189. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.89. The company has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Poroch sold 10,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $706,526.04. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,446,113 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.