Rathbones Group PLC Decreases Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Rathbones Group PLC cut its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 11.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,038 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 17,354 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in AT&T by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 140,679 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 5,003 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in AT&T by 217.9% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 71,245 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 48,831 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 12.1% in the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 12,039 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 18,650 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,837,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on T shares. BNP Paribas raised AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.31.

AT&T Price Performance

AT&T stock opened at $22.28 on Tuesday. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.12 and a 1 year high of $22.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.22. The company has a market cap of $159.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.57. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. AT&T’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.68%.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.