The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 182,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,332 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southern were worth $15,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 250.9% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 7,491 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.4% in the third 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 during the period. Prospect Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $213,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,573,000 after buying an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the third quarter valued at $321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SO opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $65.80 and a 1-year high of $94.45. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.74.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

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.