Exane Asset Management Takes Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Exane Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 278,956 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,520,000. AT&T accounts for about 4.9% of Exane Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 10,188 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 28,782 shares of the technology company's stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 8,179 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,239 shares of the technology company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 7,843 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 42,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $308,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on T. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.10.

AT&T Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:T traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,300,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,427,839. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $27.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.65. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.14 and a twelve month high of $29.19. The stock has a market cap of $198.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.42.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is 68.10%.

AT&T 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.