HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its AT&T stake by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 117,617 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,715,114 shares worth about $67.4 million.
• AT&T posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.57 versus estimates of $0.55 and revenue of $31.51 billion, while also reiterating FY 2026 guidance of 2.25 to 2.35 EPS.
• The company continues to reward shareholders with a 4.5% dividend yield after paying a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $30.55.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,715,114 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,617 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $67,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AT&T by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,055,700 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,495,144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585,661 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 323,775,045 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,143,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,704,536 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 65,607,835 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,852,765,000 after purchasing an additional 370,455 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,823,362 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,632,932,000 after purchasing an additional 4,584,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 48,559,566 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,371,322,000 after purchasing an additional 691,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Price Performance

T opened at $24.93 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $26.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.00. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.95 and a 12-month high of $29.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $173.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.23.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. AT&T had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $31.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the topic of several recent research reports. Arete Research upgraded AT&T from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on AT&T from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.55.

Key AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T unveiled a large $19 billion California network investment plan, signaling long-term growth in fiber and wireless services and reinforcing its infrastructure upgrade strategy. AT&T Makes $19 Billion Commitment to Bring High-Speed Connectivity to California
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its outperform rating and kept a $31 price target, suggesting meaningful upside from recent trading levels. AT&T rating reaffirmed by RBC
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T Fiber was ranked #1 in customer satisfaction for the fourth straight year, which may support subscriber growth and lower churn. Four Years at #1: AT&T Fiber Customers Are the Happiest

About AT&T

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T's product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.

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