AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stock Position Cut by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 381,705 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in AT&T were worth $6,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of T. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its position in AT&T by 16,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in AT&T by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,322 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 3,202.4% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of NYSE T traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.90. 56,618,354 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,089,582. The firm has a market cap of $120.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.54. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.43 and a 12 month high of $18.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.01). AT&T had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 56.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on AT&T from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays increased their price target on AT&T from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded AT&T from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of AT&T from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

About AT&T

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.