Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 16,019 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,019 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $76,360,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.24. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

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.