Garner Asset Management Corp Buys 12,329 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,304 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,329 shares during the quarter. AT&T accounts for approximately 1.3% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in AT&T were worth $2,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AT&T by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 624,994,998 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,999,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,539 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,549,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592,123 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 30,092,610 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $575,070,000 after purchasing an additional 315,580 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AT&T by 22.0% during the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,988,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $477,528,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,725 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in AT&T by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 20,072,613 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $383,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE:T opened at $21.74 on Thursday. 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 $155.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.12 and a fifty-two week high of $22.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.28.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is 59.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on T. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AT&T in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.31.

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.