Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 614,635 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,130,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 614,635 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 8.27% of Atmos Energy worth $1,828,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $7.65 on Friday, hitting $147.64. 1,431,793 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 886,490. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $157.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $148.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.79.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Company 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.