LPL Financial LLC Purchases 16,735 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,735 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $12,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $76,360,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,149,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO traded down $2.86 on Monday, reaching $144.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,060,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,605. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $157.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.