Exane Asset Management Purchases Shares of 278,956 AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Exane Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 278,956 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,520,000. AT&T makes up about 4.9% of Exane Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of T. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Core Alternative Capital grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 125.4% in the 1st quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AT&T in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.05.

AT&T Stock Performance

AT&T stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.11. The company had a trading volume of 34,408,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,473,933. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.14 and a 52 week high of $29.19. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 9.64%. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.10%.

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.