Macquarie Group Ltd. Sells 153,995 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Macquarie Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 745,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 153,995 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Southern worth $64,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Southern by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after acquiring an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $1,111,450,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Southern by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth about $131,968,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.38.

Southern Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.80 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.95 and its 200-day moving average is $91.95.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 12.64%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Southern

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.