Wright Investors Service Inc. Raises Holdings in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. significantly increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. by 120.6% in the 2nd quarter, now owning 122,850 shares valued at approximately $3.56 million.
• AT&T's quarterly earnings report showed $0.54 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $30.85 billion, a 3.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, reflecting a 3.8% yield and maintaining a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 120.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,850 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,149 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for 1.1% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $3,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,579 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 10,188 shares during the period. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,359 shares of the technology company's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 16,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 105,691 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,407,000 after buying an additional 36,417 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.68. The stock had a trading volume of 9,706,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,303,488. The business's fifty day moving average is $28.49 and its 200-day moving average is $27.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $205.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.05 and a 1-year high of $29.79.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $30.85 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. HSBC cut AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res lowered AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $33.00 price target on AT&T in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.74.

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.