Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 943,910 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,607 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in AT&T were worth $21,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $14,700,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in AT&T by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 21,282,584 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $468,217,000 after buying an additional 104,700 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AT&T by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $168,969,000 after buying an additional 2,326,904 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in AT&T by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 195,991 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,312,000 after buying an additional 30,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in AT&T by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 396,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,928,000 after buying an additional 26,706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Price Performance

T stock opened at $24.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $24.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.75. The company has a market capitalization of $175.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on T shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.21.

AT&T Company Profile

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.