Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 38,826 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in AT&T Inc. by 46.6%, acquiring an additional 38,826 shares, bringing its total holdings to 122,098 shares worth $3.5 million.
• AT&T received several analyst upgrades, with firms like Bank of America and Goldman Sachs setting a buy rating and target prices of $32.00, while the average consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $30.74.
• AT&T's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting $0.54 EPS and $30.85 billion in revenue, which indicates a year-over-year revenue growth of 3.4%.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,098 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,826 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $3,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 10,188 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 22,344 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on AT&T in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $33.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.74.

AT&T Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AT&T stock opened at $28.34 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $28.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.85. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.05 and a 12-month high of $29.79. 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 capitalization of $202.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.44.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

About AT&T

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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