Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Has $13.62 Million Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA reduced its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,005 shares during the quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Southern were worth $13,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,112,000 after buying an additional 1,180,812 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 8,375.3% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 849,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,989,000 after acquiring an additional 839,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,480,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,558,000 after buying an additional 485,562 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,364,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $78.19. 2,399,683 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,824,747. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.22 and a 200-day moving average of $69.93. The company has a market capitalization of $85.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $78.74.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

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.