Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Buys 23,000 Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,000 shares during the quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $3,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of T. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in AT&T by 1.9% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 24,304 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 2.5% during the third quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC now owns 18,847 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,468 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank grew its position in AT&T by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 21,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hayek Kallen Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.8% in the third quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 60,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

AT&T Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of T stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $167.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $24.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.47 and its 200 day moving average is $20.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.24%.

About AT&T

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.