Ascent Group LLC Acquires 146,788 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 95.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 146,788 shares, bringing its total holdings to $8,514,000.
• AT&T's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.54, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $30.85 billion, reflecting a 3.4% annual increase.
• Analysts generally favor AT&T, with one "Strong Buy," seventeen "Buy," and a consensus target price of $30.55.

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 95.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 301,077 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,788 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $8,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in AT&T by 7.9% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 123,247 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 9,027 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,109,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,389,000 after buying an additional 102,419 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 129,428 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,660,000 after buying an additional 8,989 shares during the period. Finally, Park Edge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,000,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Up 1.8%

AT&T stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.43. 35,101,004 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,216,198. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.05 and a 52 week high of $29.79. The company has a market capitalization of $210.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50 day moving average is $28.24 and its 200 day moving average is $27.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. 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 note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.60.

AT&T Company 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.