Ascent Group LLC Has $2.60 Million Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,891 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AT&T by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 624,994,998 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,999,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,539 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 75,484,518 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,328,528,000 after buying an additional 4,014,873 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $1,118,288,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,589,421 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $848,888,000 after buying an additional 798,024 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 47,377,267 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $794,978,000 after buying an additional 1,137,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:T traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $18.90. The stock had a trading volume of 30,779,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,768,941. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.32 and its 200 day moving average is $17.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.89 and a 52 week high of $19.74. The stock has a market cap of $135.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.58.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.