Choate Investment Advisors Decreases Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Choate Investment Advisors decreased its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,676 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in AT&T were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 166.7% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,322 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE:T traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,035,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,111,031. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.43 and a 52 week high of $19.32. The firm has a market cap of $133.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.35.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $30.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.62 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $22.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.85.

AT&T Company 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.