Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Has $11.83 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,021 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $11,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Southern during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $302,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Southern by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Southern by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % 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, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SO shares. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.54.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $90.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.14.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 16.47%. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

Southern 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.