International Assets Investment Management LLC Sells 1,486,900 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

International Assets Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 98.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,913 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,486,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the third quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $292,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 219.4% during the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 6,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Up 2.3 %

SO traded up $1.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $82.97. 7,807,536 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,003,747. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $85.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.00. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. Southern's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SO shares. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.14.

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.