Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 16,191 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,482 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 16,191 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in AT&T by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,322 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC raised its position in AT&T by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 26,620 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 111,852 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Schubert & Co increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 2.0% in the third quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 32,333 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 15,637 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AT&T stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,023,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,324,028. The stock has a market cap of $120.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.68. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.43 and a twelve month high of $18.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.97 and a 200-day moving average of $16.62.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $30.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.62 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on T. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on AT&T from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.81.

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.