Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC decreased its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,280 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 99,500 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in AT&T by 305.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,541,724 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161,152 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in AT&T by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,785 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its stake in AT&T by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its stake in AT&T by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 187,069 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,116,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 88.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 98,881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,175,000 after acquiring an additional 46,460 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on T shares. BNP Paribas raised AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer started coverage on AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank raised AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.33.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T stock opened at $26.18 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.94 and a twelve month high of $26.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.23. 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) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. On average, analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 74.50%.

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.