Meritage Portfolio Management Decreases Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 246,189 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,920 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in AT&T were worth $6,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Keystone Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 216,980 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 143,744 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. World Investment Advisors lifted 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 purchasing an additional 63,359 shares during the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,255,000 after purchasing an additional 365,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 37,961 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 15,680 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.90.

AT&T Price Performance

T stock opened at $28.32 on Thursday. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.14 and a 1 year high of $29.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.05. The firm has a market cap of $203.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 9.64%. The business had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.10%.

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.