Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 10,153 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,263 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,153 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $2,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Financial Group grew its position in shares of AT&T by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 216,980 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 143,744 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AT&T during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in AT&T by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 237,477 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,407,000 after buying an additional 63,359 shares in the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. grew its holdings in AT&T by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,255,000 after buying an additional 365,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 577,985 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,161,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on T. Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE:T traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.92. 27,403,482 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,379,903. The company has a market capitalization of $193.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.14 and a 12 month high of $29.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.44.

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). The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 9.64% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio 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.