AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stake Boosted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 161,120,657 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,630,972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $3,532,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in AT&T by 169.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 356.5% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 107.5% in the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.73.

AT&T Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of T stock opened at $23.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.39 and a 200-day moving average of $20.43. The firm has a market cap of $167.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $24.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.24%.

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.