Liberty One Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,002,592 AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,002,592 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,353,000. AT&T comprises 2.9% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Core Alternative Capital lifted its holdings in AT&T by 125.4% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $28.39 on Tuesday. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.14 and a 52-week high of $29.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.70.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on T. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America began coverage on AT&T in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on AT&T from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.05.

AT&T 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.