Blue Trust Inc. Has $7.82 Million Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 87.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,183 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $7,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,245,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 19,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 24,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the period. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in Southern by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim cut 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 dropped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company 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 given a hold rating and five have issued 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.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $85.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.36 and its 200-day moving average is $86.77.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.