Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,644 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $10,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 526 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its stake in Southern by 1,021.4% during the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 628 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $78.72. 4,420,153 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,849,418. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $78.94. The stock has a market cap of $86.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.44 and its 200 day moving average is $70.07.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.71.

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.