AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Shares Sold by Guardian Investment Management

Guardian Investment Management reduced its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,132 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,031 shares during the quarter. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in AT&T were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 17,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 24,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 9,450 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,099,843 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,983,000 after purchasing an additional 206,434 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 476,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,262,000 after purchasing an additional 25,028 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1,191.3% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 12,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 11,722 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.25. The company had a trading volume of 20,299,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,350,898. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.48. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.43 and a 52-week high of $19.83. The stock has a market cap of $116.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.01). AT&T had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 6.83%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded AT&T from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on AT&T from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.68.

AT&T Company Profile

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.