MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Trims Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,007 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in Southern were worth $6,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SO. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Southern in the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southern by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 18,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Southern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 69,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,714,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Southern by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $573,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $83.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,406,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,442,785. The stock has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.52. The business's 50-day moving average price is $84.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.31. 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 12 month low of $65.80 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.14.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.