Financial Advocates Investment Management Lowers Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Financial Advocates Investment Management decreased its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Southern were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,521,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,203,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,768 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Southern by 17,272.6% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,647,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,320,866,000 after buying an additional 14,562,689 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southern by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,405,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,657,000 after acquiring an additional 52,414 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 3,245,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $292,679,000 after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Southern by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,077,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.63. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $65.80 and a 1 year high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southern from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,592,958.70. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

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.