9258 Wealth Management LLC Sells 145 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

9258 Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $631,068,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Southern by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter worth $128,413,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southern by 6,303.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,112,000 after buying an additional 1,180,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Southern by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,457,000 after buying an additional 934,447 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $79.86. 3,537,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,525,369. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $80.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $87.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.23 and a 200 day moving average of $72.67.

Southern (NYSE:SO) 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. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,026 shares of company stock worth $2,151,644. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.