Marshall Wace LLP Grows Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 325.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,322,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,307,527 shares during the period. Southern accounts for 0.4% of Marshall Wace LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.39% of Southern worth $355,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 229,905 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,926,000 after purchasing an additional 11,384 shares in the last quarter. Finward Bancorp acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $564,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim cut Southern from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southern from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Southern Stock Up 1.3 %

Southern stock traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,461,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,528,453. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.33. The company has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $94.45.

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

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Southern's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.82%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total value of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock valued at $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.