M3 Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 32,320 Southern Company (The) $SO

M3 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 32,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,093,000. Southern accounts for approximately 2.0% of M3 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Southern by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Southern by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 59,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Southern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $655,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Southern by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 449,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,320,000 after acquiring an additional 46,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Southern by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 514,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Southern stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $106.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $83.80 and a 12-month high of $100.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.69 and its 200-day moving average is $94.31.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.23 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $99.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.09.

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.