Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 8,185,006 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in AT&T by 1.3%, acquiring an additional 8.18 million shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 651 million shares, valued at over $18 billion.
• Analysts' ratings of AT&T show mixed sentiments, with 18 buy ratings, 6 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating, while the average target price stands at $29.66.
• AT&T announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 651,044,650 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 8,185,006 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.05% of AT&T worth $18,411,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of T. Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in AT&T in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Core Alternative Capital raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired 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 and hedge funds.

AT&T Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of T stock traded down $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $27.47. The company had a trading volume of 39,238,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,962,996. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.97 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market cap of $196.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.93.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. AT&T's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on T. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Williams Trading set a $30.00 price target on AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.66.

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.