The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 15,076 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,475,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,076 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.13% of Southern worth $114,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SO. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,067,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 382.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,998,000 after buying an additional 33,120 shares during the period. Nwam LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 11,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department increased its holdings in Southern by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 514,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,095,000 after purchasing an additional 12,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.53. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $90.85. The firm has a market cap of $98.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.60.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $2,266,455 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.