The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in AT&T Inc. by 7.5%, owning approximately 0.09% of the company, worth $178.5 million after selling over 510,000 shares.
• AT&T reported earnings of $0.54 per share for the quarter, beating analyst expectations, with an increase in revenue of 3.4% year-over-year to $30.85 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, with a dividend yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 63.07%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,311,059 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 510,713 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of AT&T worth $178,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 182.1% in the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of T stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,091,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,822,820. 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 company has a market capitalization of $207.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.56. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.92 and a 1-year high of $29.65.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on T. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.40.

AT&T 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.