The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 580,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,388 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Southern worth $47,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Southern by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 368,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,245,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 19,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares in the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal purchased a new stake in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Southern by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 24,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Southern by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $85.72 on Friday. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $65.80 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.77.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.