M&T Bank Corp Sells 5,102 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,102 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $11,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 107,700 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $432,749,000 after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,732,000 after purchasing an additional 58,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:ATO traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 436,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,735. The company has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $167.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $154.83 and its 200-day moving average is $150.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. Atmos Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.95.

About Atmos Energy

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.