National Pension Service Buys 590,545 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 3.8%, acquiring an additional 590,545 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 16.29 million shares valued at $460.72 million.
• AT&T's recent earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $0.54, surpassing expectations, with reported revenue of $30.85 billion, marking a 3.4% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.11 and a dividend yield of 3.9%.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,291,234 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 590,545 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.23% of AT&T worth $460,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its position in AT&T by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in AT&T by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 153,699 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,347,000 after buying an additional 3,349 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in AT&T by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,560,645 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $72,381,000 after buying an additional 91,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariadne Wealth Management LP raised its position in AT&T by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 37,436 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. TD Securities increased their price target on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.66.

AT&T Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of T stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $28.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,523,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,456,629. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $18.97 and a one year high of $29.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $27.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AT&T's payout ratio 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.