Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in AT&T by 4.5%, owning about 11.5 million shares, which constitute approximately 0.4% of their total holdings.
• AT&T reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue growth of 3.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, yielding 3.9% annually, indicating a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,506,642 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 537,535 shares during the period. AT&T comprises approximately 0.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.16% of AT&T worth $325,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC raised its holdings in AT&T by 182.1% during the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Price Performance

AT&T stock opened at $28.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $201.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.11. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.97 and a 12-month high of $29.19. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. AT&T's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Securities upped their target price on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.66.

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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