Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 942,600 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in AT&T Inc. by 11.6%, selling 942,600 shares during the first quarter, while still holding over 7 million shares valued at approximately $204 million.
• AT&T's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.54, exceeding estimates, with revenues increasing by 3.4% year-over-year to $30.85 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.11 and a yield of 3.8%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,216,039 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 942,600 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.10% of AT&T worth $204,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 182.1% during the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:T traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.56. The stock had a trading volume of 31,831,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,816,730. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $20.52 and a one year high of $29.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $211.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50 day moving average is $28.17 and its 200-day moving average is $27.58.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on T. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. HSBC lowered shares of AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.55.

AT&T Profile

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.