Meridian Financial Partners LLC Takes Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,514 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE:T opened at $28.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.32 and its 200 day moving average is $25.47. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.42 and a fifty-two week high of $29.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is 68.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on T. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.71.

AT&T 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.