OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 82,890 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 91.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 82,890 shares during the period. Southern accounts for approximately 1.1% of OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $14,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $848,019,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $315,290,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Southern by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $355,864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 562.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,368,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,790,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,461,710,000 after buying an additional 698,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.72. The stock had a trading volume of 4,181,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,430,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $76.64 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business's revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

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.