Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 131,593 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,220,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 131,593 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.77% of Atmos Energy worth $169,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth about $209,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 114,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,921,000 after purchasing an additional 12,269 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 99,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 27,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. 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, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.19. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $154.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.