Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Sells 19,060 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 100,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,060 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southern were worth $8,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 19,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $667,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its stake in Southern by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at $186,000. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its position in Southern by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 4,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Down 0.9 %

SO opened at $83.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $91.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.83 and a 200-day moving average of $86.66. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $65.80 and a 52 week high of $94.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.98%.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $100,503.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,592,958.70. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SO. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim cut Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southern from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.