Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,140 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Southern by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Southern by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 890,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,287,000 after acquiring an additional 15,383 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its position in Southern by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth $1,576,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.74. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.