The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Holdings Increased by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 172.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,709 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southern were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 34.7% in the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of SO traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,771,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,228,738. The company has a market cap of $90.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.57. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $65.80 and a twelve month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SO. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.