Morris Financial Concepts Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Morris Financial Concepts Inc. lifted its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Morris Financial Concepts Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Southern by 17,272.6% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 8,741.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,502,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485,816 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Southern by 72.4% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,072 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 4.6% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,605,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $86.85 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.77. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $95.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. This trade represents a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction 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 $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.