Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 3,591 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 17.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,008 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,591 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in T. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in AT&T by 1,379.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,159,133 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $270,581,000 after acquiring an additional 13,201,774 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,853,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $414,563,000 after acquiring an additional 6,602,586 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,549,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592,123 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AT&T by 22.0% during the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,988,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $477,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,725 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in AT&T in the second quarter worth approximately $78,570,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Price Performance

AT&T stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.15. The stock had a trading volume of 4,129,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,592,789. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $14.74 and a one year high of $22.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.09 and its 200 day moving average is $19.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.01%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 63.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on T. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lowered AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.