Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Reduces Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,874 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,933 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 2.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 700,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,388,000 after purchasing an additional 18,869 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 5.1% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115,159 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 5,549 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 79,898 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of AT&T by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 22,546 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T opened at $24.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.55. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $24.98.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on T. Argus upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.11.

About AT&T

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.