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 trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake 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 valued at $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after acquiring an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,732,000 after acquiring an additional 58,391 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $156.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 911,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,623. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $155.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.29. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The business 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 company'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 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

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.