Poplar Forest Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,198,210 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 416,445 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for 5.0% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $27,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its position in shares of AT&T by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE:T opened at $27.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.54. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $27.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $197.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

T has been the topic of several analyst reports. New Street Research upgraded shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.33.

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.