The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 137,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,218 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $11,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southern by 94.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. increased its position in Southern by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 48,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,983,000 after acquiring an additional 11,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in Southern by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 237,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,556,000 after acquiring an additional 14,824 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total value of $100,811.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,148,284.90. The trade was a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.42. 4,702,927 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,510,704. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $100.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim downgraded Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.46.

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.