Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 416,668 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,742,913 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 416,668 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $432,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter valued at $42,122,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 30,984 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel raised its stake in AT&T by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 36,868 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 44.5% during the third quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 19,582 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 6,035 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AT&T from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AT&T from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.55.

More AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fresh estimates indicate that building a nationwide wireless network would be expensive for SpaceX, reducing the near-term threat to established carriers such as AT&T. T-Mobile’s decision not to pursue an MVNO arrangement with SpaceX also suggests incumbents are not immediately embracing the proposed rival. T-Mobile, SpaceX and wireless competition article
• Positive Sentiment: Televisa expects AT&T’s planned purchase to strengthen its competitive position. A stronger strategic footprint could support AT&T’s long-term growth and operating leverage, although the transaction is expected to increase debt. Televisa expects AT&T purchase to strengthen position
• Neutral Sentiment: Wireless pioneer Ray Dolan suggested mobile internet could eventually become free if carriers monetize data collected from cell-tower sensing. The idea highlights a possible future revenue stream for AT&T, but it is speculative and unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Wireless carriers and free mobile internet article
• Negative Sentiment: AT&T’s dividend payments reportedly fell 46% while the company directed billions toward share repurchases. Buybacks can support per-share earnings and signal management confidence, but the reduced dividend is a drawback for income-focused investors and raises questions about whether capital returns are being shifted away from cash payouts. AT&T dividend payments and stock buybacks article

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T opened at $21.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.96. The company has a market capitalization of $144.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.25. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.89 and a fifty-two week high of $29.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.87.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $32.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.69 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 10.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.