Updating AT&T Inc.

Article Excerpt

AT&T INC. $33 (New York symbol T; Income-Growth Dividend Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 7.3 billion; Market cap: $240.9 billion; Dividend yield: 6.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.att.com) is the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. It also offers traditional phone and satellite TV services. In June 2018, the company completed its $103 billion cash-and-stock purchase of media giant Time Warner. AT&T plans to use Time Warner content to attract more users to its wireless and TV services. Thanks partly to the extra cash flow from Time Warner, AT&T raised its quarterly dividend with the February 2019 payment by 2.0%. Investors now receive $0.51 a share instead of $0.50. The new annual rate of $2.04 yields a high 6.2%. The company has now increased the annual payment for 35 consecutive years. Due to the additional revenue from Time Warner and strong demand for high-speed Internet service, AT&T’s revenue in the quarter ended March 31, 2019, rose 17.8%, to $44.8 billion from $38.0 billion a year earlier…