Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $53.34 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 591,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,735 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Southern worth $53,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 168.1% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the third quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of SO traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,930,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,416,679. The company's 50-day moving average is $89.66 and its 200-day moving average is $85.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $94.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

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.