Executive Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 79,809 The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 79,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,197,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 168.1% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Southern during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE SO traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $84.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,241,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,419,814. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company's fifty day moving average is $89.25 and its 200 day moving average is $85.45. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Guggenheim increased their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Company 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.