Vest Financial LLC Increases Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 47.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,184 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,528 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of T. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,203,667,000 after buying an additional 26,280,866 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,216,665,000 after buying an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $1,779,438,000 after buying an additional 10,945,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of AT&T by 4,986.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,913,960 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $225,741,000 after buying an additional 9,719,036 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AT&T stock opened at $28.09 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.42 and a fifty-two week high of $29.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $202.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.45.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.71.

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.