Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring an additional 36,756 shares valued at approximately $27.96 million.
• AT&T recently reported earnings of $0.54 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues hitting $30.85 billion, marking a 3.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, reflecting a 3.8% annual yield and a dividend payout ratio of 63.07%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 966,230 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 36,756 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in AT&T were worth $27,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 182.1% in the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 62,059,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,513,551. 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 company has a market cap of $207.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.41 and a 200-day moving average of $27.79. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.05 and a 52 week high of $29.79.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued 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 payout ratio is 63.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on T. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. HSBC lowered shares of AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up previously from $31.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.74.

AT&T 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.