Lafayette Investments Inc. Trims Position in AT&T Inc. $T

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,570 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,365 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of T. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the first quarter worth about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 182.1% during the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in shares of AT&T by 412.1% during the second quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 973 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Alternative Capital raised its position in shares of AT&T by 125.4% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE T opened at $26.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.05 and a 12-month high of $29.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res cut AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.65.

About AT&T

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.