AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,853 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,060 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hayek Kallen Investment Management raised its holdings in AT&T by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 60,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,313 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T by 2.2% during the second quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 24,138 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 4.8% in the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Trading Up 2.7 %

AT&T stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.07. 15,339,630 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,470,203. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $158.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.04. 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 results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. AT&T’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on T. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Daiwa America upgraded AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.69.

About AT&T

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.