Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Sells 10,484 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lowered its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,484 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $12,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 21,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,871,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 436.4% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 27,440 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 11,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 7,138 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 436,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,069,000 after purchasing an additional 44,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Southern by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,415,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,521,000 after purchasing an additional 128,390 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $93.90 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.97. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The firm has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm 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%.The company’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Southern 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.