Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,694 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,030,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,836,444,000 after purchasing an additional 422,653 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,772,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,287,188,000 after acquiring an additional 527,261 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,756,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,399,000 after acquiring an additional 533,372 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,632,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,940,000 after acquiring an additional 206,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,539,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,903,000 after acquiring an additional 161,281 shares during the last quarter. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 217,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,931,692.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 217,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,931,692.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total transaction of $45,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,584 shares in the company, valued at $303,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.
Atmos Energy Price Performance
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.
Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 22nd will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 19th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 50.86%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.25.
About Atmos Energy
Atmos Energy Corp. engages in the provision of natural gas services. It operates under the Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage business segments. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations. The Pipeline and Storage segment includes pipeline and storage operations of Atmos Pipeline-Texas division and natural gas transmission operations.
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