Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 18,472 Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 49.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 18,472 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $4,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.3M Stock: Invest Now for Unmatched Quality and Growth PotentialSeveral other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $631,068,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Southern by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,444,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,153,065,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,845 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Southern by 38.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $488,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,988 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,413,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southern by 6,303.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,199,544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $84,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock. Southern Price PerformanceShares of SO stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.44. The stock had a trading volume of 8,470,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,705,677. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $76.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 12 month low of $61.56 and a 12 month high of $80.84. Power Surge: Utilities Sector Breaks out, Outperforms MarketSouthern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Southern had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 3.99 EPS for the current year. Southern Increases DividendThe business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%. Insider Transactions at Southern3 Affordable Stocks That Won’t Stay Down Much LongerIn other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,117,660.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price TargetsSeveral equities analysts have commented on SO shares. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Southern from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.36.Check Out Our Latest Analysis on SOAbout Southern (Free Report)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.Further ReadingFive stocks we like better than SouthernThe How And Why of Investing in Oil StocksSarepta Therapeutics Stock Soars on FDA ApprovalWhy Are Stock Sectors Important to Successful Investing?CarMax: A Market Melt-Up Waiting to Happen for this Stock5 Top Rated Dividend Stocks to Consider3 Solar Stocks to Watch that are Building the Green Energy FutureWant to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report).This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.→ Who are Nvidia’s Silent Partners? (From Weiss Ratings) (Ad)Should you invest $1,000 in Southern right now?Before you consider Southern, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. 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