Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $716,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,253 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

ATO stock opened at $150.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.79. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $151.24. The stock has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 payout ratio is 46.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.31.

About Atmos Energy

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.