Eventide Asset Management LLC Sells 29,472 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Eventide Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 10.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 261,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,472 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $23,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,363,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,430,489. 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 has a market capitalization of $97.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.12.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.47.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Southern

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.