MML Investors Services LLC Grows Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 341,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,497 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $30,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 168.1% during 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 about $39,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Southern by 34.7% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Southern during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SO. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.6 %

SO stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $84.32. The company had a trading volume of 3,865,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,424,718. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.25 and a 200-day moving average of $85.45. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The stock has a market cap of $92.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

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.