The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 483,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,067 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Southern were worth $43,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 17,272.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $135,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,816 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Southern by 4.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,768 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Southern by 2,719.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 872,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,670,000 after purchasing an additional 841,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Southern by 7,657.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 571,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,304,000 after purchasing an additional 563,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of 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 decreased their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.14.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE:SO traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $83.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,053,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,416,819. The business's fifty day moving average is $88.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.48. The stock has a market cap of $91.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Southern's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.