Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 5,382 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.27% of Atmos Energy worth $59,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third 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 last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $122,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,555 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $88,311,000 after acquiring an additional 13,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

ATO traded up $1.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $148.04. 1,148,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 907,230. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.00 and a 200 day moving average of $138.81. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATO. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.75.

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.