HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 34,118 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in AT&T Inc. by 1.3%, holding 2,615,155 shares valued at approximately $73.96 million after selling 34,118 shares in the 1st quarter.
• AT&T reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.53, with a revenue of $30.85 billion, reflecting a 3.4% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, yielding 3.9%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 63.07%.

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,615,155 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 34,118 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $73,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,044,650 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,411,543,000 after acquiring an additional 8,185,006 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,779,438,000 after acquiring an additional 10,945,679 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 57,425,387 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,307,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841,837 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,216,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in AT&T by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,032,367 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,184,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE T traded up $0.36 on Thursday, hitting $28.76. 24,523,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,456,629. The business's fifty day moving average is $27.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.13. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $29.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $30.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price objective on AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.66.

About AT&T

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.