Phoenix Financial Ltd. Acquires 47,001 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. significantly increased its stake in AT&T Inc. by 189.1%, acquiring an additional 47,001 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 71,862 shares valued at approximately $2,079,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on AT&T, with HSBC downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating and setting a target price of $30.00, while Bank of America initiated a "buy" rating with a price target of $32.00.
• AT&T announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.3%, and the payment is scheduled for November 3rd for stockholders of record by October 10th.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 189.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,862 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,001 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. David J Yvars Group boosted its position in AT&T by 2.8% in the second quarter. David J Yvars Group now owns 13,884 shares of the technology company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 7.1% in the first quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the technology company's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc boosted its position in AT&T by 2.6% in the first quarter. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc now owns 15,027 shares of the technology company's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 0.8% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 50,802 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James J. Burns & Company LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 1.0% in the second quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on T. HSBC cut AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $33.00 price target on AT&T in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Bank of America began coverage on AT&T in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.65.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of AT&T stock opened at $26.01 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.78. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.05 and a 52 week high of $29.79. The company has a market capitalization of $185.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is presently 63.07%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.