The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.

Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Southern were worth $593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southern by 3.8% in the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in Southern by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 5.8% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.3% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Performance

NYSE SO opened at $84.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm 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 Southern Company has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In related news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SO. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.79.

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.