66,254 AT&T Inc. $T Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 626,379 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 66,254 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in AT&T were worth $15,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in T. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 141,142 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,444,000 after buying an additional 8,382 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,122,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.3% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 30,984 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.4% in the third quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 36,868 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on T. Scotiabank dropped their price target on AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on AT&T from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on AT&T from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.55.

AT&T Price Performance

AT&T stock opened at $21.45 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.96. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.89 and a 12 month high of $29.43. The company has a market cap of $144.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $32.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.69 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 10.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

More AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fresh estimates indicate that building a nationwide wireless network would be expensive for SpaceX, reducing the near-term threat to established carriers such as AT&T. T-Mobile’s decision not to pursue an MVNO arrangement with SpaceX also suggests incumbents are not immediately embracing the proposed rival. T-Mobile, SpaceX and wireless competition article
• Positive Sentiment: Televisa expects AT&T’s planned purchase to strengthen its competitive position. A stronger strategic footprint could support AT&T’s long-term growth and operating leverage, although the transaction is expected to increase debt. Televisa expects AT&T purchase to strengthen position
• Neutral Sentiment: Wireless pioneer Ray Dolan suggested mobile internet could eventually become free if carriers monetize data collected from cell-tower sensing. The idea highlights a possible future revenue stream for AT&T, but it is speculative and unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Wireless carriers and free mobile internet article
• Negative Sentiment: AT&T’s dividend payments reportedly fell 46% while the company directed billions toward share repurchases. Buybacks can support per-share earnings and signal management confidence, but the reduced dividend is a drawback for income-focused investors and raises questions about whether capital returns are being shifted away from cash payouts. AT&T dividend payments and stock buybacks article

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.