HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 166,385 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors reduced its AT&T stake by 6%, selling 166,385 shares and retaining 2.59 million shares valued at approximately $53.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.1% of the company.
• AT&T reported quarterly EPS of $0.65, beating estimates of $0.59, while revenue rose 2.3% year over year to $31.56 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, representing a 4.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $29.19 versus the stock’s reported $25.21 price, although several firms recently lowered targets or downgraded their ratings.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,593,706 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 166,385 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $53,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in T. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth $2,181,977,000. Amundi increased its holdings in AT&T by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 42,295,492 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,094,184,000 after buying an additional 17,040,328 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in AT&T by 620.8% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 11,891,778 shares of the technology company's stock worth $295,392,000 after buying an additional 10,241,949 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in AT&T by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 332,089,723 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,249,109,000 after acquiring an additional 8,314,678 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in AT&T by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 25,155,597 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $624,865,000 after acquiring an additional 8,297,201 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Up 0.4%

T stock opened at $25.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $172.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.27. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.89 and a fifty-two week high of $29.79.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%.The business had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is 36.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on T shares. Argus reduced their price target on shares of AT&T from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $29.25 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AT&T from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of AT&T from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.19.

Key Stories Impacting AT&T

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

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T reportedly reduced expenses for coding and other advanced AI tasks by as much as 56% by routing workloads to lower-cost models and using open-source technology. The reported quality decline was only about 2%, suggesting a meaningful opportunity to improve efficiency and margins. AT&T Slashes AI Costs by Adopting Model Routers and Open Source
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T partnered with, and invested in, Hark to support AI-native consumer devices through network connectivity, device certification and infrastructure. The deal could create future wireless demand and position AT&T to participate in emerging AI hardware markets, although near-term financial benefits are unclear. Hark and AT&T Partner on Connectivity for Future AI Devices
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage points to continued momentum in AT&T’s Advanced Connectivity segment, supported by fiber expansion, customer convergence and rising demand for networks capable of handling AI workloads. Sustained execution could provide a growth catalyst beyond the company’s traditional wireless operations. T Rides on Strength in Advanced Connectivity Segment
• Neutral Sentiment: One analysis argues that AT&T is outperforming several telecom peers but that its valuation does not fully reflect that performance, potentially supporting further appreciation if operating results remain strong. The Peer-Group Mispricing Sitting On T Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend-focused commentary notes that AT&T’s approximately 4.5% yield is attractive, but argues that growth will likely remain slow and that increasing average revenue per customer is an important—and limited—route to stronger results. Yielding 4.5%, Should Dividend Stock Investors Buy AT&T Stock?

AT&T Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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