AT&T Inc. $T Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,789 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in AT&T by 412.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 973 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE T opened at $25.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.77. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.05 and a 52-week high of $29.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $30.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. AT&T’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on T. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Scotiabank set a $30.25 price objective on shares of AT&T and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $31.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.65.

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.