Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Has $933,000 Stock Position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 549 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southern by 3,628.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter worth $39,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southern in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Southern by 31.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other news, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,375. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sterling A. Jr. Spainhour sold 2,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.99, for a total transaction of $211,796.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,375. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,488,826. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE SO opened at $93.24 on Monday. The Southern Company has a 52 week low of $64.53 and a 52 week high of $93.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.07.

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.