Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,977 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Southern were worth $20,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Southern by 83.8% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $376,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Southern by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Southern by 1,518.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Southern by 790.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $93.10 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 75.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SO. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho set a $105.00 price objective on Southern in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price objective on Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.85.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.