Klingman & Associates LLC Has $316,000 Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 17,272.6% in 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 buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $135,524,000 after buying an additional 1,485,816 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,293,072 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after buying an additional 1,075,768 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,605,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $86.55 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.80. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.99 and a 1 year high of $94.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 3.33%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

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.