American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. by 10.7%, now owning approximately 7.65 million shares valued at $216.2 million.
• AT&T reported a Q2 earnings of $0.54 per share, beating estimates, with revenue reaching $30.85 billion, which is 3.4% higher year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 63.07%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,645,589 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 738,182 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of AT&T worth $216,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of AT&T by 5.5% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 1,080,681 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,778,000 after buying an additional 56,611 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 14.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,186 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in AT&T by 97.1% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 5,803,532 shares of the technology company's stock worth $164,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859,572 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AT&T by 2.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 53,339,376 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,508,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,009 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 5.3% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 103,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of T opened at $28.89 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $27.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.08 and a 1-year high of $29.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. AT&T's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on T. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AT&T currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.21.

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.

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