Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Buys 25,502 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 945,567 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,502 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in AT&T were worth $20,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Washington Trust Bank grew its position in AT&T by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 12,078 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 5.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,306,930 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $182,752,000 after purchasing an additional 402,894 shares during the period. Jackson Square Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 50.9% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 262,719 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,780,000 after purchasing an additional 88,648 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 35,485 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at about $303,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:T traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,656,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,518,164. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.61 and a 200-day moving average of $19.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.46 and a 52-week high of $22.73.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 report on Thursday, August 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

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.