GFS Advisors LLC Takes $478,000 Position in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• GFS Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in AT&T Inc. worth approximately $478,000, purchasing 16,515 shares during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and GQG Partners, have recently adjusted their holdings, indicating a strong interest as 57.10% of AT&T's stock is now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have boosted their price targets for AT&T, with JPMorgan raising its target from $31 to $33, reflecting a bullish sentiment with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,515 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,044,650 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,411,543,000 after purchasing an additional 8,185,006 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,266,758,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 113,957,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,222,711,000 after purchasing an additional 17,177,874 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,216,190 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,561,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in AT&T by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 53,339,376 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,508,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,009 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.75.

AT&T Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE T opened at $25.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $184.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 2.10 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 $21.05 and a 12 month high of $29.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.45 and a 200-day moving average of $27.88.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

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