Acadian Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in AT&T by 464.5% in the first quarter, acquiring over 7.4 million additional shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately $256.8 million.
• AT&T's stock closed at $29.43 with a market capitalization of $210.44 billion, while analysts predict a 2.14 EPS for the current year, showing optimism for the company's performance.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 464.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,082,761 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,473,804 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.13% of AT&T worth $256,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the technology company's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc raised its stake in AT&T by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc now owns 15,027 shares of the technology company's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $29.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.68. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.05 and a 1 year high of $29.79.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on T. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group set a $32.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.60.

AT&T Profile

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.

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