AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Shares Purchased by Leelyn Smith LLC

Leelyn Smith LLC raised its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 25,273 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,755 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 125.4% in the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 1,021 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on AT&T from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.12.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $26.97 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.14 and a 52 week high of $29.19.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.10%.

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.