Kessler Investment Group LLC Grows Stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Kessler Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,123 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its holdings in AT&T by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AT&T in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:T opened at $25.88 on Friday. AT&T Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.94 and a 52 week high of $25.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.99. 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 has a market cap of $185.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on T. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

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.