Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 564,471 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 34.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,069,884 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 564,471 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $24,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

AT&T Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AT&T stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.72. 31,085,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,735,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.86. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.11 and a 1-year high of $29.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. AT&T's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 68.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.71.

AT&T 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.