Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Sells 126,113 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc lessened its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 73.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,074 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 126,113 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in AT&T were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in T. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,203,667,000 after purchasing an additional 26,280,866 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,216,665,000 after acquiring an additional 12,881,578 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in AT&T by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,779,438,000 after purchasing an additional 10,945,679 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 4,986.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,913,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,741,000 after buying an additional 9,719,036 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:T traded up $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $27.76. The company had a trading volume of 29,163,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,671,329. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.42 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. Barclays upped their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $30.00 target price on AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.71.

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.