Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 12,849 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 813,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,849 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Southern worth $57,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,945,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Southern by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 65,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,624,000 after buying an additional 2,691 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.14. 4,939,759 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,672,769. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $78.74. The firm has a market cap of $85.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 72.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.71.

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.