APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 244,372 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

APG Asset Management N.V. lowered its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,619,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 244,372 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Southern were worth $117,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 11,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth $219,000. SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 73,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 21,972 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SO opened at $88.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $97.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52. The Southern Company has a twelve month low of $61.56 and a twelve month high of $90.85.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.60.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,597.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,620,831.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,845 shares of company stock valued at $2,266,455 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Company 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.