Marcum Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Marcum Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 84.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,432 shares during the quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Southern by 45.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,994,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,721,382,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Southern by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,529,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $247,457,000 after acquiring an additional 934,447 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Southern by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,572,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,528,000 after purchasing an additional 452,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $197,192,000 after purchasing an additional 51,751 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho downgraded Southern from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.27.

Southern Trading Up 0.8 %

SO stock traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,081,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,464,834. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $91.86. The stock has a market cap of $97.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $88.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.92.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $6.10 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.42%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total value of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,945 shares of company stock worth $3,488,826. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.