Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. by 23.2% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 11,160 shares, leading to a total valuation of $1,678,000 at the end of the quarter.
• AT&T announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.11 and a yield of 3.8%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for AT&T, with Scotiabank setting a new target of $30.00 and UBS Group raising it to $31.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,330 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,160 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 182.1% during the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Core Alternative Capital lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 125.4% during the 1st quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $29.29 on Monday. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.62 and a 12-month high of $29.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $28.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.53. The company has a market capitalization of $209.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on T shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Hsbc Global Res lowered AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC lowered AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.21.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.