Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Has $1.11 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 71.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 12,388 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $305,000. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $145.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.46 and a 12-month high of $152.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.36.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 50.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.