2,469,393 Shares in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Purchased by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,469,393 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,255,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AT&T by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 642,859,644 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,637,914,000 after buying an additional 6,220,442 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 163,761,301 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,719,723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640,644 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,203,667,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280,866 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 85,592,594 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,948,943,000 after purchasing an additional 5,649,277 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,858,418,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Stock Down 6.8 %

T stock opened at $26.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.73. The stock has a market cap of $191.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.94 and a twelve month high of $29.03.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. 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 fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on AT&T from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Argus raised shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.21.

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.