Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Acquires Shares of 441,800 AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired 441,800 shares of AT&T Inc. for approximately $12.49 million during the first quarter.
• Analysts have generally issued a positive outlook for AT&T, with a consensus price target of $30.55 and multiple ratings of "buy" from firms like UBS and Goldman Sachs.
• AT&T recently reported an earnings beat with $0.54 EPS for the last quarter, along with a 3.4% increase in year-over-year revenue to $30.85 billion.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 441,800 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $12,494,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter worth $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake 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 worth $3,222,711,000 after purchasing an additional 17,177,874 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,216,665,000 after acquiring an additional 12,881,578 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings 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 worth $338,213,000 after acquiring an additional 11,920,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in AT&T by 350.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,363,940 shares of the technology company's stock worth $321,372,000 after acquiring an additional 8,841,126 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.55.

AT&T Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE T opened at $29.56 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.52 and a 12 month high of $29.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.20 and a 200-day moving average of $27.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. AT&T's dividend 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.

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