Perpetual Ltd Cuts Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 21.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,488 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 55,307 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in AT&T were worth $4,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of T. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position 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 period. American Capital Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 107.5% in the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of T stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $21.38. 25,248,560 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,699,320. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $20.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.79. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.23 and a 52 week high of $22.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on T shares. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.38.

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.