Aberdeen Group plc Buys 285,690 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,089,222 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 285,690 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.08% of AT&T worth $173,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 182.1% during the 1st quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 993 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its holdings in AT&T by 412.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 973 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Alternative Capital increased its holdings in AT&T by 125.4% during the 1st quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AT&T from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Bank of America assumed coverage on AT&T in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. HSBC cut AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

AT&T Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:T opened at $25.85 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.05 and a 12-month high of $29.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.88.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $30.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.07%.

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.