Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 105,299 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its position in AT&T by 15.5%, owning 574,756 shares worth approximately $16.25 million after selling 105,299 shares in the first quarter.
• AT&T's quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $0.54, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 3.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,756 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 105,299 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $16,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in AT&T by 801.5% in the first quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 277,290 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,842,000 after purchasing an additional 246,532 shares during the last quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in AT&T in the first quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Taylor Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 4.0% in the first quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,069 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the first quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.66.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of AT&T stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.08. The stock had a trading volume of 23,594,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,716,284. The firm has a market cap of $200.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $29.19. The business's 50-day moving average is $27.83 and its 200 day moving average is $27.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

AT&T Company 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.