Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 20,333 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,511,006 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 20,333 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $33,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in AT&T by 227.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in AT&T by 356.5% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 107.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 176.6% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE T traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,527,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,406,266. The company has a market capitalization of $160.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.64 and a twelve month high of $22.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.65.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. AT&T’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on T shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AT&T presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.40.

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.