IFG Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

IFG Advisory LLC lessened its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,416 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,827 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in AT&T by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,216,665,000 after buying an additional 12,881,578 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in AT&T by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,779,438,000 after buying an additional 10,945,679 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in AT&T by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,651,898 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,085,034,000 after buying an additional 7,347,354 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $160,747,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in AT&T by 402.3% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 6,478,108 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $147,507,000 after buying an additional 5,188,460 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on T shares. Barclays raised their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.66.

AT&T Stock Performance

AT&T stock opened at $27.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $18.64 and a one year high of $29.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

AT&T Profile

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.