AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Stake Boosted by Delta Financial Group Inc.

Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 103,667 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MONECO Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 64,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 20,285 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in AT&T by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,518 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 42,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 4,648 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 110,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE T opened at $26.64 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.94 and a 1-year high of $26.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.30.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank upped their target price on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.33.

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.