MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in AT&T Inc. by 1.8%, owning 1,864,458 shares worth approximately $52.7 million after selling 34,812 shares in the first quarter.
• AT&T reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.54, slightly beating analysts' expectations of $0.53, with revenue of $30.85 billion, a 3.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, yielding 3.9%, with a payout ratio currently at 63.07% as of August 1.

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,864,458 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 34,812 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $52,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. DigitalBridge Group Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,255,000 after purchasing an additional 365,776 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in AT&T by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 123,247 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 9,027 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,109,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,389,000 after purchasing an additional 102,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in AT&T by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 129,428 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,660,000 after purchasing an additional 8,989 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of T stock opened at $28.7290 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $27.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.38. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.51 and a 1-year high of $29.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. AT&T's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on T shares. Hsbc Global Res cut AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, HSBC cut AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.21.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding T? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.