Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 53,596 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.07% of Southern worth $65,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,483,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,495,761. The business's fifty day moving average price is $87.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion for 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 expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Southern's payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.46.

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.