M&T Bank Corp Has $9.87 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,506,000 after acquiring an additional 66,345 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,558,000 after acquiring an additional 9,253 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $139.69 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $143.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.85. The firm has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.46 and a 12 month high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.