Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,907 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,136 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 356.5% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 107.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE T opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $14.74 and a one year high of $22.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. AT&T’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued 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 5.08%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.69.

AT&T Profile

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.