AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stake Raised by Cetera Advisor Networks LLC

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,354,890 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,252 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $23,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $1,118,288,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,472,000. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $152,109,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,086,854 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $152,477,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 75,484,518 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,328,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on T shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays increased their price target on AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE T traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.37. The company had a trading volume of 45,240,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,305,292. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.55. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.89 and a fifty-two week high of $19.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $138.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.58.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The business had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.73%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.68%.

About AT&T

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.