Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Sells 229 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. trimmed its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $85.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.81. The stock has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

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.