Merit Financial Group LLC Has $13.29 Million Stake in AT&T Inc. $T

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 459,082 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,750 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $13,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in T. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 182.1% during the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in shares of AT&T by 412.1% during the second 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. Finally, Core Alternative Capital raised its position in shares of AT&T by 125.4% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $27.06 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $21.05 and a one year high of $29.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.60 and a 200-day moving average of $27.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $193.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. AT&T’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 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 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on T. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.74.

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.