Ballentine Partners LLC Sells 693 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ballentine Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 693 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 25,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after buying an additional 8,774 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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 purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $139.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.81. The firm has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

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

Atmos Energy Company 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.