Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 94,376 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in AT&T by 25%, selling 94,376 shares, leaving it with 282,898 shares valued at $8 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for AT&T, with JPMorgan Chase raising their target from $31.00 to $33.00, while the average target is now $30.21, reflecting positive sentiment.
• AT&T announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, representing a 3.8% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 63.07% for the company.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,898 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 94,376 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $8,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its position in AT&T by 182.1% in the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in AT&T in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Core Alternative Capital grew its position in AT&T by 125.4% in the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on T shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued 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. Scotiabank boosted 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, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.40.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE T traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.07. 31,563,185 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,904,359. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.92 and a 52 week high of $29.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted 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. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company 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 company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

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

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.