AT&T Inc. $T Stock Bought by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,097,556 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,067,802 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for about 2.0% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in AT&T were worth $148,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in AT&T by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,273,613 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,919,464,000 after acquiring an additional 18,468,679 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in AT&T by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 125,191,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,629,307,000 after acquiring an additional 5,449,222 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in AT&T by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 72,764,509 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,109,443,000 after acquiring an additional 8,197,935 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,223,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 55,616,152 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,151,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,556 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on T. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of AT&T from $31.50 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.56.

Trending Headlines about AT&T

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T says it plans to maintain its annual dividend at $1.11 per share and repurchase about $10 billion of stock this year. One valuation analysis also suggests the shares could be roughly 34% below fair value, though that estimate depends on the company’s ability to generate cash over time. Article: The 10-Year Treasury Just Hit 5%. AT&T Pays About the Same Article: AT&T Stock May Be 34% Below Fair Value
• Positive Sentiment: A Cullen Capital Management filing disclosed a purchase of about 1.89 million AT&T shares as of September 30. The delayed filing is a modest positive signal, but does not indicate current trading. Article: Fund Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend-focused analysis describes AT&T’s payout as relatively safe but not growing. The 5% 10-year Treasury yield offers investors a competing income option, potentially limiting the appeal of AT&T’s dividend. Article: How Safe Is Each Dividend Check?
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage emphasized AT&T’s substantial debt burden. Separately, Jim Cramer urged investors to sell, citing the prospect of SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile entering wireless through a nationwide 5G network partnership with Qualcomm. That is a competitive concern, not evidence of an immediate impact on AT&T’s results. Article: Should Dividend Stock Investors Buy AT&T Stock? Article: Jim Cramer on SpaceX and AT&T

AT&T Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:T opened at $21.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.30. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.89 and a twelve month high of $29.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. AT&T had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $32.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions. The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.