Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 12,371 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,272 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,371 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Next Level Private LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in AT&T by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in AT&T by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 114,324 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,222,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T stock opened at $28.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.95. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.14 and a 52 week high of $29.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 9.64% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on T. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.90.

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.

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