Asset Dedication LLC Trims Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 56.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,427 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $528,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 5,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter worth about $369,000. Investment Planning Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southern by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Investment Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 3,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospect Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Southern Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.95. The stock had a trading volume of 6,407,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,290,767. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.55. The firm has a market cap of $93.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company 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 for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern's payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Southern

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.