Franklin Resources Inc. Has $168.97 Million Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 41.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,947,913 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,326,904 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.11% of AT&T worth $168,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 227.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91,578 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 356.5% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on T shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer began coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded AT&T from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.00.

AT&T Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AT&T stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $23.63. 33,693,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,125,296. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $15.94 and a one year high of $24.03. The company has a market capitalization of $169.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. 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 50-day moving average of $22.50 and a 200 day moving average of $20.58.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 90.24%.

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.