Essex LLC Sells 1,855 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Essex LLC trimmed its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,818 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,855 shares during the period. Essex LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,844 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,196,000 after buying an additional 29,757 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 32,833 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 4,750 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at $160,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in AT&T by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 55,108 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in AT&T by 12.3% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 20,002 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T stock opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.97. The stock has a market cap of $156.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.74 and a 12 month high of $22.34.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. The business had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.69.

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.