Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Boosts Stock Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,158,639 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,399,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.11% of AT&T worth $185,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in AT&T by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 31,130 shares of the technology company's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 6,158 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 6,886 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 134,950 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 17,100 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 23,597 shares of the technology company's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in AT&T by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 36,221 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 12,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:T traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.80. 37,042,995 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,510,935. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.28. The firm has a market cap of $192.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.39 and a 52 week high of $29.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on T. StockNews.com raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Argus raised shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial upped 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 investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.62.

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.