Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,362,216 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 169,123 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $29,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of T. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth about $23,888,000. Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth about $7,438,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of AT&T by 12.2% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,641,856 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,486,000 after purchasing an additional 288,093 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 642.2% during the 2nd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 104,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 90,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,037,529 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,827,000 after buying an additional 43,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

AT&T stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.85. 27,277,372 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,539,133. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.74 and a 12-month high of $22.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.95 and its 200-day moving average is $18.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.57. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 59.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on T. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.69.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.