Advisors Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,850 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,657 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $27.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.05. The company has a market cap of $197.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $29.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, April 7th. DZ Bank raised AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.24.

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.