5,396 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Bought by Clarity Wealth Development LLC

Clarity Wealth Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $453,000. Southern comprises approximately 0.5% of Clarity Wealth Development LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Southern in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Southern Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SO traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.21. 8,327,269 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,308,321. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.69 and a 200-day moving average of $87.26.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.46.

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.