AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.1% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shot up 0.1% on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $28.51 and last traded at $28.23. 9,686,804 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 34,285,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.20.

The newly announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on T shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. New Street Research raised AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.79.

AT&T Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AT&T

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.