Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Grows Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 31.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,447 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,266 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Southern were worth $12,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,089,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,180,430,000 after purchasing an additional 481,071 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Southern by 45.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,550,570 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Southern by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,718,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $245,113,000 after acquiring an additional 145,810 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,542,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $197,192,000 after purchasing an additional 51,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,380,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,694,000 after acquiring an additional 297,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.49 on Thursday, reaching $86.93. 3,536,094 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,457,538. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.86 and a 200-day moving average of $83.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southern's payout ratio is 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Southern from $77.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.27.

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.