AT&T (NYSE:T) Sets New 12-Month High at $21.99

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.99 and last traded at $21.99, with a volume of 4353482 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on T shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.31.

AT&T Stock Down 2.2 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.26. The company has a market cap of $156.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.57. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 624,994,998 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,999,912,000 after buying an additional 2,588,539 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in AT&T by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,549,375,000 after acquiring an additional 5,592,123 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 60,109,127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,148,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569,374 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 2.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,558,884 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $985,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in AT&T by 1.1% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 30,092,610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $575,070,000 after purchasing an additional 315,580 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.