Willis Investment Counsel Decreases Stock Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Willis Investment Counsel reduced its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 973,410 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for approximately 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in AT&T were worth $27,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in T. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,493,285 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,230,000 after acquiring an additional 41,623 shares in the last quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the first quarter worth about $229,000. FMB Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the first quarter worth about $211,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in AT&T by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 933,782 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,407,000 after acquiring an additional 12,927 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on T. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.71.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE T opened at $28.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.41. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.42 and a 1-year high of $29.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.10%.

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.