Prudential PLC Decreases Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC decreased its stake in AT&T by 41.0% in the first quarter, now holding 196,863 shares valued at approximately $5.57 million.
• Multiple analysts have recently updated their ratings for AT&T, with JPMorgan Chase raising the target price from $31 to $33 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• AT&T declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, amounting to an annual yield of 3.9%, which was paid on August 1st.

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 41.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,863 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 136,709 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $5,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of T. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 182.1% in the first quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Core Alternative Capital boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 125.4% in the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on AT&T from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.66.

AT&T Trading Up 1.3%

AT&T stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,523,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,400,236. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.89 and its 200 day moving average is $27.16. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.97 and a 1-year high of $29.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.07%.

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.