M&T Bank Corp Sells 128,073 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

M&T Bank Corp decreased its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 86.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 128,073 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Southern by 1.8% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southern and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp raised shares of Southern from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.08.

Southern Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SO opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.08.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.41 billion. Southern had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.