Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in AT&T Inc. $T

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,290,172 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 28,990 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $240,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of AT&T by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,488,172 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,142,000 after acquiring an additional 74,684 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the first quarter valued at about $2,901,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in AT&T by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 338,942 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after purchasing an additional 155,728 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 749.1% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 159,598 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 140,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in AT&T by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,668,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,449,000 after purchasing an additional 59,279 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on T shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lowered shares of AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.43.

AT&T Stock Performance

T opened at $21.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $147.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.36. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.89 and a 52-week high of $29.79.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.02. AT&T had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $31.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. AT&T’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 37.25%.

Trending Headlines about AT&T

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T remains a focus for traders, with recent articles questioning whether the stock is attractive after the latest pullback. Is Trending Stock AT&T Inc. (T) a Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T is testing advanced 5G drone-sensing technology with Ericsson, highlighting potential future uses in security, monitoring, and 6G-related network services. AT&T (T) Tests 5G Drone Sensing That Points Toward Future 6G Uses
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T’s H2O AI Super Agent rollout suggests the company is expanding automation and AI tools across customer service, fraud prevention, and operations, which could improve efficiency over time. H2O AI Super Agent™ is Added by AT&T to Power Enterprise Agentic AI
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T is offering free international calls on key World Cup match days, a customer-friendly promotion that may support engagement and brand loyalty. AT&T to Offer Free Calls to Countries Playing in Soccer’s Biggest Matches
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T is discontinuing new copper landline orders in California, underscoring the gradual decline of legacy wireline services and the company’s ongoing transition away from older infrastructure. 150 YEARS AFTER BELL PATENTED THE TELEPHONE, AT&T TO DISCONTINUE LANDLINE ACCESS IN CALIFORNIA
• Negative Sentiment: AT&T phone bills will rise in early August due to a higher monthly fee, which could irritate customers and add churn risk if the increase is material. AT&T phone bills are going up. See why, and by how much
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary has turned more cautious on telecom stocks after Bernstein cited Starlink as a growing competitive threat and cut price targets for AT&T and peers, adding to sector pressure. SpaceX’s Starlink threat causes Bernstein to cut Verizon, AT&T, Comcast PTs

About AT&T

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T’s product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.