Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 5,188,460 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 402.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,478,108 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,188,460 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for about 0.7% of Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.09% of AT&T worth $147,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in AT&T by 1.1% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,053,591 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,178,000 after acquiring an additional 11,895 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its holdings in AT&T by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 17,369 shares of the technology company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 38.9% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,581 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 12,772 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 129,474 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 7,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 174,118 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,831,000 after acquiring an additional 38,548 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

AT&T stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.12. The company had a trading volume of 24,758,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,700,813. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $26.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.14. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.17 and a 52 week high of $29.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on T. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.24.

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.