GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Purchases 996 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,640 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of T. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in AT&T by 166.7% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of NYSE T traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $19.17. 10,455,211 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,253,516. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.74 and its 200 day moving average is $17.70. AT&T Inc. has a one year low of $13.92 and a one year high of $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 59.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on T shares. Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.33.

AT&T 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.