AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.1% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $28.51 and last traded at $28.23. Approximately 9,686,804 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Argus raised shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. New Street Research raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

AT&T Trading Down 0.0 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.70 and its 200-day moving average is $23.53. The company has a market cap of $202.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (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%. Research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at $14,700,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $168,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326,904 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 320,089 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 21,927 shares during the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $691,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 37,961 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 15,680 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.