Bruce & Co. Inc. Sells 100,000 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Bruce & Co. Inc. has reduced its stake in AT&T Inc. by 12.9%, now owning 673,000 shares which make up approximately 6.1% of its investment portfolio.
• Recent changes among hedge funds show increased stakes in AT&T, with United Asset Strategies Inc. increasing its holdings by 105.1% and others like GM Advisory Group LLC boosting theirs by 281.5% in the first quarter.
• AT&T reported a quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.8%.

Bruce & Co. Inc. decreased its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 673,000 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the period. AT&T accounts for 6.1% of Bruce & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Bruce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $19,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 182.1% during the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in AT&T during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Core Alternative Capital boosted its holdings in AT&T by 125.4% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised their target price on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. HSBC cut 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. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.21.

AT&T Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE T traded down $0.7110 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.7290. 33,993,083 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,014,602. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 3.64 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.36. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.51 and a twelve month high of $29.65.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. AT&T's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.07%.

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.