Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 509 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lessened its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,945,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 65,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.7 %

Southern stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,578,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,244,740. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.64. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $75.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Southern’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.71.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,025 shares of company stock worth $1,424,402. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.