Board of the Pension Protection Fund Invests $802,000 in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• The Pension Protection Fund invested approximately $802,000 in AT&T Inc. by purchasing 27,700 shares during the second quarter.
• AT&T's quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share will be paid on November 3rd, representing a yield of 4.3%.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on AT&T, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.75.

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 27,700 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,579 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 10,188 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 15.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 165,258 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,195 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 87,262 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,468,000 after acquiring an additional 8,532 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 32,427 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE T opened at $25.85 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.05 and a 52 week high of $29.79. The company has a market capitalization of $184.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank set a $30.25 price target on AT&T and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. HSBC cut AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $33.00 target price on AT&T in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.75.

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.

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