B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Buys Shares of 13,678 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 13,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after purchasing an additional 19,981 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,558,000 after buying an additional 9,253 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after buying an additional 196,163 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 18.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 710,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $82,918,000 after acquiring an additional 113,109 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $150.14 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.46 and a 52-week high of $150.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $140.45 and its 200-day moving average is $128.42.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.