Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys New Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,645,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Southern stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $87.60. 3,440,105 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,703,513. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $89.73 and its 200 day moving average is $84.68. The stock has a market cap of $95.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.47.

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.