Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $236.27 Million Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,619,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 82,946 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Southern worth $236,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 3.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Southern by 5.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $87.71 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.99. The Southern Company has a one year low of $65.80 and a one year high of $94.45. The company has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southern from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.27.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total transaction of $587,830.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares in the company, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southern 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.