The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,277 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP's holdings in Southern were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 73.8% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Southern by 69.6% during the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 10,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 4,376 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern by 11.9% during the third quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Southern by 10.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,034,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,976,000 after purchasing an additional 97,061 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 3.6% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 26,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SO traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.08. 4,237,686 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,749,958. The stock has a market cap of $85.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $73.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.99. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SO. Argus boosted their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Southern from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.20.

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.