AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 11.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of T. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 624,994,998 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,999,912,000 after buying an additional 2,588,539 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,549,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592,123 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in AT&T by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 60,109,127 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,148,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569,374 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in AT&T by 2.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,558,884 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $985,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in AT&T by 1.1% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 30,092,610 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $575,070,000 after purchasing an additional 315,580 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE:T traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.85. 27,277,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,539,133. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.74 and a 52-week high of $22.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.96.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Daiwa America raised shares of AT&T to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank cut AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.69.

AT&T Company 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.