Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Lowers Stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,742,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,045 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.25% of Southern worth $196,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 10.9% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 22,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 176,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 194,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,972,000 after purchasing an additional 53,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 24,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho raised their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 0.2 %

SO stock opened at $77.72 on Thursday. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.84. The company has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.