Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $9.12 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,664 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Southern were worth $9,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 598,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,285,000 after purchasing an additional 243,000 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 24,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,051,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Southern by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 987,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,304,000 after buying an additional 24,393 shares during the period. Finally, Vectors Research Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.54.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $90.77. 2,332,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,470,757. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $73.20 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.34.

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

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Southern's payout ratio is 73.82%.

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.