Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 276,012 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in AT&T by 10.2%, owning nearly 3 million shares valued at approximately $84.7 million at the end of the first quarter.
• AT&T's recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $0.54 EPS against a consensus of $0.53, with revenues of $30.85 billion, a 3.4% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, reflecting a yield of 3.96%, set to be paid on August 1st to shareholders of record on July 10th.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,994,437 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 276,012 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in AT&T were worth $84,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Financial Group raised its position in AT&T by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 216,980 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 143,744 shares during the period. Capstone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 237,477 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,407,000 after buying an additional 63,359 shares during the period. DigitalBridge Group Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,255,000 after purchasing an additional 365,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 577,985 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,161,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:T traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $28.02. 33,981,327 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,249,414. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.64 and a 52 week high of $29.19. The company has a market cap of $201.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior 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, analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. AT&T's payout ratio is 63.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. TD Securities increased their price objective on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.66.

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.