Toronto Dominion Bank Boosts Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 15,777 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $13,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $180,834,000 after purchasing an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,558,000 after purchasing an additional 9,253 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.61.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $140.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 612,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,332. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $143.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.85. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.46 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.