WBI Investments LLC Has $5.68 Million Position in AT&T Inc. $T

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has increased its stake in AT&T by 46.7% during the first quarter, holding a total of 200,917 shares valued at approximately $5.68 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for AT&T, with several brokerages including Sanford C. Bernstein and Bank of America raising their target prices to $32.00 and giving the stock an "outperform" and "buy" rating respectively.
• AT&T's shares were reported down 0.8%, trading at $29.17, and the company recently announced a quarterly dividend yielding 3.8% annualized.

WBI Investments LLC grew its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 46.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 200,917 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 63,933 shares during the quarter. AT&T makes up about 1.5% of WBI Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $5,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of T. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,072,128,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 113,957,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,222,711,000 after buying an additional 17,177,874 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted 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 buying an additional 11,920,392 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 buying an additional 8,841,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Up 0.3%

T stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $29.59. 22,789,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,541,090. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $21.05 and a one year high of $29.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $211.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.71.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on AT&T from $29.50 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.60.

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.