ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 97,451 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,349,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 97,451 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.85% of Atmos Energy worth $187,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $528,760,000 after buying an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after buying an additional 223,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,732,000 after buying an additional 58,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ATO traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.61. 1,206,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 932,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $154.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.48. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $167.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.15.

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.