Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,593,032 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 555,503 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $35,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1,379.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,159,133 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,581,000 after acquiring an additional 13,201,774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 43.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,853,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $414,563,000 after acquiring an additional 6,602,586 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,549,375,000 after acquiring an additional 5,592,123 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 22.0% in the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,988,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $477,528,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,725 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the second quarter worth $78,570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

T has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Performance

AT&T stock opened at $21.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.74 and a 1-year high of $22.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.20 and its 200 day moving average is $19.15.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.68%.

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.