AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE:T - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $28.00 price target on the technology company's stock, up from their previous price target of $19.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. New Street Research upgraded shares of AT&T from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.18.

AT&T Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of AT&T stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.86. 48,003,031 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,571,355. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.52 and a 200-day moving average of $20.64. AT&T has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $24.03. The company has a market cap of $163.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1,379.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,159,133 shares of the technology company's stock worth $270,581,000 after buying an additional 13,201,774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 43.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,853,624 shares of the technology company's stock worth $414,563,000 after purchasing an additional 6,602,586 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 7.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,549,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592,123 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 22.0% during the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,988,396 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $477,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,725 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at $78,570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.