Willis Investment Counsel Decreases Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Willis Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 973,410 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for approximately 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in AT&T were worth $27,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its position in shares of AT&T by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 320,089 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 21,927 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group lifted its holdings in AT&T by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 216,980 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,322,000 after buying an additional 143,744 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 237,477 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,407,000 after acquiring an additional 63,359 shares during the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,255,000 after acquiring an additional 365,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 37,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 15,680 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:T traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.13. 22,422,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,609,472. The stock has a market cap of $202.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.41. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.49 and a twelve month high of $29.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 target price on AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.