1,726,308 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,726,308 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,122,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,273,613 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,919,464,000 after buying an additional 18,468,679 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 125,191,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,629,307,000 after buying an additional 5,449,222 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 3.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 75,323,574 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,559,198,000 after buying an additional 2,559,065 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at $1,223,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 55,616,152 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,151,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,556 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on AT&T from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AT&T in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.55.

AT&T Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE T opened at $21.45 on Monday. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.89 and a 12-month high of $29.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $144.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.36 and a 200 day moving average of $24.96.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $32.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.69 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

More AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fresh estimates indicate that building a nationwide wireless network would be expensive for SpaceX, reducing the near-term threat to established carriers such as AT&T. T-Mobile’s decision not to pursue an MVNO arrangement with SpaceX also suggests incumbents are not immediately embracing the proposed rival. T-Mobile, SpaceX and wireless competition article
• Positive Sentiment: Televisa expects AT&T’s planned purchase to strengthen its competitive position. A stronger strategic footprint could support AT&T’s long-term growth and operating leverage, although the transaction is expected to increase debt. Televisa expects AT&T purchase to strengthen position
• Neutral Sentiment: Wireless pioneer Ray Dolan suggested mobile internet could eventually become free if carriers monetize data collected from cell-tower sensing. The idea highlights a possible future revenue stream for AT&T, but it is speculative and unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Wireless carriers and free mobile internet article
• Negative Sentiment: AT&T’s dividend payments reportedly fell 46% while the company directed billions toward share repurchases. Buybacks can support per-share earnings and signal management confidence, but the reduced dividend is a drawback for income-focused investors and raises questions about whether capital returns are being shifted away from cash payouts. AT&T dividend payments and stock buybacks article

About AT&T

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.