Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd has increased its stake in AT&T by 8.7%, owning approximately $4.63 million worth of shares after acquiring 12,992 additional shares in the first quarter.
• AT&T reported a 3.4% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $0.54 for the latest quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, have significantly increased their positions in AT&T, contributing to institutional ownership now at 57.10%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,964 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,992 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in AT&T were worth $4,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 113,957,259 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,222,711,000 after purchasing an additional 17,177,874 shares in 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 fourth 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 worth $1,216,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 30,527.5% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,959,440 shares of the technology company's stock worth $338,213,000 after purchasing an additional 11,920,392 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of AT&T by 350.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,363,940 shares of the technology company's stock worth $321,372,000 after buying an additional 8,841,126 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

T stock opened at $29.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. AT&T Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.05 and a 1 year high of $29.79. The company has a market cap of $210.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.68.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.AT&T's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on T shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.60.

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.

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