Sigma Planning Corp Sells 47,629 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 20.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 186,735 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 47,629 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in AT&T were worth $5,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,203,667,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280,866 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T by 31.8% during the fourth 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 worth $1,216,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,779,438,000 after purchasing an additional 10,945,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,651,898 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,085,034,000 after purchasing an additional 7,347,354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T opened at $26.97 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $194.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 3.37 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.35. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.14 and a 1-year high of $29.19.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 68.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on T. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.12.

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.