Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Has $606,000 Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the third 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,311,000 after acquiring an additional 13,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $139.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $152.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $142.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.96. The stock has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.