M3 Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

M3 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.3% in the third quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE:SO opened at $94.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.36. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $83.80 and a 52-week high of $100.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.92 and a 200 day moving average of $91.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 price target on Southern and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp raised Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 price target on Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.56.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. The trade was a 17.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.