AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stake Raised by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 135.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,315 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,426 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $11,554,000. Provence Wealth Management Group raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 16,217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 250.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 67,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 48,091 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $1,163,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 46,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 5,161 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:T traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.14. 34,790,522 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,295,418. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.89 and a 1-year high of $19.33. The company has a market capitalization of $137.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.68.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $30.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.62 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.13%. AT&T’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 59.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on T shares. StockNews.com lowered AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas raised AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays raised AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.85.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.