Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,679,313 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 39,861 shares during the period. AT&T accounts for about 0.7% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $36,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in shares of AT&T by 1.9% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 24,304 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 2.5% in the third quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC now owns 18,847 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.3% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 21,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Hayek Kallen Investment Management boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 60,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 2.1% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 24,389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Performance

AT&T stock opened at $22.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.84. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.85 and a 52-week high of $23.20.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 90.24%.

AT&T Company Profile

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.