AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Shares Bought by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,278 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 35,599 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in AT&T were worth $3,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in AT&T by 356.5% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 107.5% in the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Up 0.7 %

T stock opened at $22.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $160.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.52 and a 52 week high of $22.73.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on T shares. Redburn Atlantic raised AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.40.

About AT&T

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.