UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 313,169 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,060,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 313,169 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.67% of Atmos Energy worth $147,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geller Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $153.92. 190,597 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,014. 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 cap of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $155.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.39. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.