Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, July 27, 2018

Article Excerpt

AT&T INC., $31.08, New York symbol T, last raised its quarterly dividend with the February 2018 payment. Investors now receive $0.50 a share, up 2.0% from $0.49. The new annual rate of $2.00 yields a high 6.4%. In June 2018, the company completed its $103 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of media giant Time Warner (New York symbol TWX) after a judge ruled against an attempt by the U.S. Department of Justice to block it. The U.S. government has decided to appeal that ruling. The trial is set to begin on October 18, 2018. While it’s unlikely that AT&T will have to unwind the merger, a successful appeal for the Department of Justice could force the company to sell some of Time Warner’s cable channels. Alternatively, the appeals court could place limits on any increases in TV subscription fees. Meantime, AT&T’s revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2018, fell 2.1%, to $39.0 billion from $39.8 billion a year earlier. That missed the consensus forecast…