Mather Group LLC. Trims Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mather Group LLC. cut its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,598 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. owned 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $13,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $76,360,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,446,000 after purchasing an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $32,221,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded down $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $143.07. 857,115 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 924,588. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $141.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.15.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 8.83%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

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.