Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Raises Holdings in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in AT&T by 9.0% in Q1, owning 1,314,000 shares valued at $37.16 million after purchasing 109,000 additional shares.
• Other institutional investors, such as GQG Partners LLC and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, increased their stakes in AT&T significantly, reflecting a growing interest among hedge funds.
• AT&T reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.54 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, with revenues up by 3.4% year-over-year.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,314,000 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in AT&T were worth $37,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 17.7% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 113,957,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,222,711,000 after acquiring an additional 17,177,874 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,216,665,000 after acquiring an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in AT&T by 30,527.5% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,959,440 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $338,213,000 after purchasing an additional 11,920,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in AT&T by 350.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,363,940 shares of the technology company's stock worth $321,372,000 after purchasing an additional 8,841,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Trading Up 1.8%

AT&T stock opened at $29.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.68. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.05 and a 52 week high of $29.79. The stock has a market cap of $210.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on T shares. HSBC cut AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price 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. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.60.

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.

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