AT&T Inc. $T Stock Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel cut its AT&T stake by 21.7% in the third quarter, selling 220,000 shares and retaining 794,010 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million.
• Other institutional investors made significant purchases, including Bank of America, GQG Partners, Legal & General, and Nykredit, while State Street increased its position by 5.8%. Institutional investors collectively own 57.1% of AT&T.
• AT&T has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $29.05 versus its recent $23.50 share price, and it maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, yielding about 4.7% annually.

Willis Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 21.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 794,010 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 220,000 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in AT&T were worth $19,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of T. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,310,898,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,223,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $960,695,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 5.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,273,613 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,919,464,000 after acquiring an additional 18,468,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $259,954,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect third-quarter earnings of approximately $0.60 per share on revenue of $31.65 billion. Recent forecasts from highly ranked analysts and a reported average price target of $29.05 suggest potential upside if AT&T delivers a strong report or improves its outlook. AT&T Gears Up For Q3 Print AT&T Average Target Price
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T sold its Mexico wireless business for $2 billion, a transaction that could simplify operations and provide additional capital for debt reduction, network investment, or shareholder returns. Recent Forecast Changes
• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its customer guarantee, including faster technical support, as it seeks to improve service quality and retention. Better customer satisfaction could support lower churn and strengthen AT&T’s bundled wireless-and-fiber strategy. AT&T Expands Customer Guarantee
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T and the NBA and WNBA launched a fourth-generation High-Speed Arena Network under a multiyear connectivity partnership. The agreement reinforces AT&T’s enterprise-network capabilities and creates recurring commercial and brand-visibility opportunities. AT&T, NBA and WNBA Launch Network
• Neutral Sentiment: Options pricing points to an unusually large potential move after earnings, indicating elevated investor uncertainty and likely near-term volatility rather than a clear directional signal. Options Market Expects Major Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: AT&T remains under pressure after trailing rivals on customer-service metrics, while the stock has declined over the past year. The earnings report must show stronger execution and sustainable subscriber growth to reverse that sentiment. AT&T Buy Before Earnings

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $30.00 price target on AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AT&T from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.05.

AT&T Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of T stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.50. 13,692,138 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,323,676. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.89 and a 1 year high of $29.43. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $161.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.25.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.80 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%. The business's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc NYSE: T is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.

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