JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 86,597 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 493,509 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 86,597 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.31% of Atmos Energy worth $68,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $147,516,000 after acquiring an additional 7,501 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,529,000 after acquiring an additional 29,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ATO. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

ATO traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $148.86. 1,471,632 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,020. The stock has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $157.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $148.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

About Atmos Energy

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.