Welch Group LLC Sells 5,375 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Welch Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 780,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,375 shares during the period. Southern makes up about 2.9% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Welch Group LLC owned 0.07% of Southern worth $64,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the third quarter valued at about $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Southern by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,772,000 after buying an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,626,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 94.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after acquiring an additional 140,151 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SO shares. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $84.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

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.