Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its holdings in AT&T by 5.5%, bringing their total to 1,080,681 shares, valued at approximately $30.78 million.
• Market analysts report a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for AT&T, with price targets ranging from $27.00 to $33.00.
• AT&T announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 63.07%.

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,080,681 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,611 shares during the quarter. AT&T makes up 0.6% of Ethic Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $30,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the first quarter worth about $201,000. DigitalBridge Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 2,865,814 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,255,000 after acquiring an additional 365,776 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of AT&T by 7.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 123,247 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,302,000 after acquiring an additional 9,027 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 10.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,109,933 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,389,000 after acquiring an additional 102,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in AT&T by 7.5% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 129,428 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,660,000 after purchasing an additional 8,989 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.21.

AT&T Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:T traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.89. 37,018,071 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,399,430. The stock has a market cap of $206.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.42. 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 12-month low of $19.08 and a 12-month high of $29.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.21.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. AT&T's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. AT&T's payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

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.