12,849 Shares in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Acquired by Asset Planning Inc

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,058,000. Southern comprises about 0.8% of Asset Planning Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $326,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $576,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 201,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 288,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,033,000 after buying an additional 140,151 shares during the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of SO stock opened at $86.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the firm’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 value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.