Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,282,812 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 29,674 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of AT&T worth $234,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in AT&T by 115.2% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Up 0.1%

T stock opened at $28.33 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.76 and its 200 day moving average is $26.08. The stock has a market cap of $203.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.14 and a 1-year high of $29.19.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 9.64%. AT&T's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on T. TD Securities upped their price objective 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. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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