Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in AT&T by 6.1%, selling 638,667 shares, while still maintaining 9,749,805 shares, representing about 2.0% of its total holdings.
• AT&T's quarterly earnings surpassed analyst expectations, reporting $0.54 earnings per share against an estimated $0.53, with revenues rising to $30.85 billion, a 3.4% increase from the prior year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.11 with a yield of 3.9%, and a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,749,805 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 638,667 shares during the period. AT&T comprises about 2.0% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of AT&T worth $275,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in AT&T by 97.1% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 5,803,532 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $164,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859,572 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 53,339,376 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,508,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,009 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 103,960 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,909,000 after acquiring an additional 5,263 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 165,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,666,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 1st quarter worth approximately $438,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of T stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.89. 37,018,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,399,430. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.08 and a 1 year high of $29.19. The firm has a market cap of $206.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.21.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC lowered AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res cut AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.21.

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.