Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Increases Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,414 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in AT&T were worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $14,700,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 21,282,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $468,217,000 after acquiring an additional 104,700 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 41.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $168,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326,904 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 18.3% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 195,991 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 30,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in AT&T by 7.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 396,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,928,000 after purchasing an additional 26,706 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE:T opened at $25.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $25.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.21.

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.