Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 59,344 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,451,662 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 59,344 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $33,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Wealthstar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. HTLF Bank raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 35,427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 66,999 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on T shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.21.

AT&T Stock Performance

T opened at $24.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $24.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

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.