Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 1,417 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southern were worth $3,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,945,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Southern by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new stake in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at $3,795,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern

In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.94, for a total transaction of $334,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,552 shares in the company, valued at $8,672,210.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,899 shares of company stock valued at $739,587 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,112,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,679,615. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.35 and its 200 day moving average is $69.27. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Southern’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Southern Company will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

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.