Marshall Financial Group LLC Sells 84 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Marshall Financial Group LLC cut its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 52.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 25,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,983,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 28,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 10,880 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 51.7% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 84,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,894,000 after purchasing an additional 28,906 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,544,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 362,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,404,000 after purchasing an additional 13,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $139.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $142.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.96. The stock has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy 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.