Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southern Company (The) were worth $2,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Southern Company (The) by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,463,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $570,670,000 after buying an additional 62,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southern Company (The) by 205.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,803,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $438,168,000 after buying an additional 5,920,212 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Southern Company (The) by 20.3% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,978,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $247,826,000 after buying an additional 841,100 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Southern Company (The) by 9.7% in the first quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 4,464,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,240,000 after buying an additional 395,211 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in Southern Company (The) by 9.4% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,212,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,131,000 after buying an additional 189,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.83% of the company’s stock.
Southern Company (SO) traded up 0.79% on Friday, hitting $48.30. 4,852,965 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $46.20 and a 12 month high of $53.73. The stock has a market cap of $48.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.44 and a beta of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.47.
Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Southern Company (The) had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post $2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Southern Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 346.27%.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: This story was first published by StockNewsTimes and is the sole property of of StockNewsTimes. If you are viewing this story on another domain, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. & international trademark & copyright laws. The original version of this story can be viewed at https://stocknewstimes.com/2017/08/18/southern-company-the-so-shares-sold-by-transamerica-financial-advisors-inc-updated-updated-updated.html.
A number of brokerages have weighed in on SO. Deutsche Bank AG upgraded shares of Southern Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Southern Company (The) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Southern Company (The) in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Barclays PLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Southern Company (The) in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, BidaskClub lowered shares of Southern Company (The) from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Southern Company (The) has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.79.
In related news, EVP Christopher C. Womack sold 75,144 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $3,703,847.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,204,338.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Lantrip sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $1,287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 31,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,600,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,084 shares of company stock valued at $7,665,158 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Southern Company (The) Company Profile
The Southern Company (Southern Company) is a holding company. The Company owns all of the stock of the traditional electric operating companies and the parent entities of Southern Power Company (Southern Power) and Southern Company Gas, and owns other direct and indirect subsidiaries. The Company’s segments include Gas distribution operations, Gas marketing services, Wholesale gas services, Gas midstream operations and All other.
Receive News & Ratings for Southern Company (The) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern Company (The) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
