Senator Investment Group LP Boosts Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Senator Investment Group LP boosted its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,765,000 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. AT&T makes up approximately 1.8% of Senator Investment Group LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Senator Investment Group LP's holdings in AT&T were worth $62,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 2,744,039 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,482,000 after buying an additional 29,565 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in AT&T by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 851,823 shares of the technology company's stock worth $19,405,000 after buying an additional 52,787 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in AT&T by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 495,070 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,273,000 after buying an additional 322,709 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth $683,000. Finally, Sharpepoint LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $1,699,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $27.17. The company had a trading volume of 43,339,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,671,497. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.38 and a 12-month high of $29.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.22. The company has a market capitalization of $195.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut AT&T from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $28.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.24.

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.