AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 4,421,032 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,892,680 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,421,032 shares during the quarter. AT&T makes up approximately 0.5% of AQR Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.25% of AT&T worth $407,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AT&T by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on T. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.71.

AT&T Trading Down 0.2 %

AT&T stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.66. The stock had a trading volume of 37,347,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,401,949. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.73 and a 12 month high of $29.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.10%.

AT&T Company Profile

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.