Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,594,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,240 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $213,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 9,665.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 269,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,170,000 after purchasing an additional 266,561 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its position in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 68,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 3,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Southern by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.47 and its 200 day moving average is $86.63. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SO. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Southern Company 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.