State Street Corp Has $5.36 Billion Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

State Street Corp reduced its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 40.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 61,490,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 41,214,229 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Southern worth $5,361,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $93.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.95. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The company has a market cap of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.82 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SO has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

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.