Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 28,854 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,236,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,854 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Southern were worth $408,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southern by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Southern by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,142,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,587,589,000 after buying an additional 7,593,224 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Southern by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,459,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,004,866,000 after buying an additional 5,436,212 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Southern by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,259,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,381,344,000 after buying an additional 384,860 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter worth $1,111,450,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.80 and a fifty-two week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.Southern’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Southern’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SO shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore raised shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southern 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.