The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Autumn Glory Partners LLC

Autumn Glory Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,823 shares during the quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern by 94.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $85.72 on Friday. 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 company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.77.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.