Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 52.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 163,893 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 181,985 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nadler Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 10,148 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 51,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Poplar Forest Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC now owns 1,621,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,206,000 after acquiring an additional 79,490 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in AT&T by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 160,701 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,717 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Trading Down 1.3 %

AT&T stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $16.59. 46,652,405 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,432,227. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.54.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $30.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.62 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. AT&T’s payout ratio is presently 56.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AT&T from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of AT&T from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.81.

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.