Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 484,633 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in AT&T by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter, owning over 3.1 million shares valued at approximately $88.3 million.
• AT&T reported earnings per share of $0.54 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.4% to $30.85 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 63.07%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 18.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,112,865 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 484,633 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $88,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. David J Yvars Group grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.8% during the second quarter. David J Yvars Group now owns 13,884 shares of the technology company's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 7.1% in the first quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Next Level Private LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,206,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc lifted its stake in AT&T by 2.6% in the first quarter. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc now owns 15,027 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $31.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.74.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.04. 62,059,787 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,068,662. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.05 and a 1 year high of $29.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.45 and its 200 day moving average is $27.82. The company has a market capitalization of $207.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders 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 currently 63.07%.

AT&T 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.