Sound Income Strategies LLC Raises Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 5.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,179,250 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,778 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for about 1.7% of Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $25,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,690,665 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,195,000 after acquiring an additional 126,603 shares during the period. Sowa Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,053 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. Shore Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE T traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.37. The company had a trading volume of 25,249,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,699,320. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.23 and a 12 month high of $22.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $153.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.83.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The business had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.19%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.38.

AT&T Company 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.