Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 411,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,520 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Atmos Energy worth $47,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.33.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,108,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,965. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.61.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 51.11%.

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.