AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.4% - Here's Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $27.05 and last traded at $26.76. 27,122,126 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 36,425,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Argus upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.24.

AT&T Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $26.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.94. The firm has a market cap of $192.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

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AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. Equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AT&T in the fourth quarter worth about $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,203,667,000 after purchasing an additional 26,280,866 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,216,665,000 after buying an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in AT&T by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,779,438,000 after acquiring an additional 10,945,679 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in AT&T by 4,986.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,913,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,741,000 after acquiring an additional 9,719,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

About AT&T

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.