AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stock Holdings Lifted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T – Get Rating) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,938,778 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 855,391 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.07% of AT&T worth $90,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in T. Arcus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eisler Capital UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 51.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE T opened at $15.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.47. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.46 and a 12-month high of $21.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.68.

AT&T (NYSE:T – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $30.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.22 billion. AT&T had a negative net margin of 7.52% and a positive return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently -87.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on AT&T from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.89.

AT&T Profile

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AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications media and technology service. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers services to businesses and consumers located in the U.S., or in U.S. territories, and businesses globally.