AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Down 0.5%

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $16.38 and last traded at $16.42. 28,451,332 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 38,716,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on T shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, TheStreet raised AT&T from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

AT&T Stock Up 1.9 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.54. The firm has a market cap of $120.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.01). AT&T had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. AT&T’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 56.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 16,250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 166.7% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lipe & Dalton purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AT&T

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.