Poplar Forest Capital LLC Increases Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC raised its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,618,756 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares during the period. AT&T makes up 4.3% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $30,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in AT&T by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 30,092,610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $575,070,000 after acquiring an additional 315,580 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 179,948 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 7,284 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 21,419 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 2,058 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 78,970 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,509,000 after buying an additional 3,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth about $193,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.06.

AT&T Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:T traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.97. 53,079,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,035,312. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.12 and a 12-month high of $21.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. AT&T’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.29%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 59.68%.

AT&T Company Profile

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.