The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $5,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in Southern by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 890,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,287,000 after buying an additional 15,383 shares during the period. Certuity LLC increased its stake in Southern by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,576,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SO. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

Southern Stock Performance

Southern stock opened at $86.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.74. The company has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

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.