iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 24,378 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,378 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $16,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 2,785.8% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 563,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,358,000 after acquiring an additional 543,517 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $4,852,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,753,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,966,000 after acquiring an additional 47,451 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.34 and its 200-day moving average is $91.80. The firm has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a one year low of $83.80 and a one year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore upgraded Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southern from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.85.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total value of $643,891.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.