KCM Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.57 Million Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,512 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Southern during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Southern by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southern Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Southern stock opened at $89.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.33. The Southern Company has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $94.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Southern’s payout ratio is 71.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Southern from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern news, CEO James Jeffrey Peoples sold 14,540 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $1,250,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,296. The trade was a 52.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,946,985.28. This represents a 23.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,855 shares of company stock worth $4,348,784. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.