AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Down 0.2% - Here's Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $27.50 and last traded at $27.59. Approximately 5,646,857 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 41,832,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.71.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.08 and a 200-day moving average of $24.60. The company has a market capitalization of $200.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.10%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,700,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AT&T by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $168,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326,904 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its position in AT&T by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 320,089 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 21,927 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 216,980 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 143,744 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 237,477 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,407,000 after acquiring an additional 63,359 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AT&T

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.