Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Sells 205 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Southern were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,572,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,444,343,000 after buying an additional 352,023 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 5.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Southern by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,737,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,953,000 after acquiring an additional 163,986 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Southern by 3.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $634,988,000 after purchasing an additional 349,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern by 38.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group downgraded Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.36.

Southern Trading Up 0.4 %

SO traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.24. 3,009,448 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,649,044. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $61.56 and a 1-year high of $75.80. The company has a market cap of $80.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total value of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.