State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 17,932 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lessened its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 403,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,932 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Southern were worth $33,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chelsea Counsel Co. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 2,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 0.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 76,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,940,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 106.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 5,713 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,361,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. The trade was a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $90.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $71.66 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.38 and a 200-day moving average of $87.27.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

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.