Traders Purchase High Volume of AT&T Put Options (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 106,815 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 31% compared to the average volume of 81,675 put options.

AT&T Stock Down 0.1 %

T stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $26.62. The company had a trading volume of 37,746,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,460,914. The company has a market capitalization of $191.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $29.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 74.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $28.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in AT&T by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,203,667,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280,866 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in AT&T by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,216,665,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881,578 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,779,438,000 after acquiring an additional 10,945,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 4,986.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,913,960 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $225,741,000 after purchasing an additional 9,719,036 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.