Eastern Bank Sells 17,777 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank reduced its holdings in AT&T by 14.7%, owning 103,548 shares worth $2.93 million after selling 17,777 shares in the first quarter.
• AT&T recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, which will be paid on August 1st, representing an annual yield of 4.04%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.54 per share for its last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenue up 3.4% year-over-year at $30.85 billion.

Eastern Bank cut its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,548 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 17,777 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in AT&T were worth $2,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in T. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $1,779,438,000 after acquiring an additional 10,945,679 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position 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 valued at $1,307,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841,837 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 31.8% in the fourth 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 valued at $1,216,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881,578 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,032,367 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,184,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,651,898 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,085,034,000 after purchasing an additional 7,347,354 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Price Performance

T traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.62. 6,640,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,779,449. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $18.64 and a one year high of $29.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.77.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. AT&T's payout ratio is 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AT&T in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. HSBC lowered AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.