Essential Planning LLC. Has $17.03 Million Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Essential Planning LLC. grew its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 6,368.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 756,996 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 745,294 shares during the period. Essential Planning LLC.’s holdings in AT&T were worth $17,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of T. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in AT&T by 62.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 194,924 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 74,607 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $261,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $812,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its position in shares of AT&T by 9.2% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 17,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 35.6% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,038 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 3,948 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE T opened at $26.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.46 and a 200-day moving average of $22.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $186.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. AT&T Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $27.97.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on T shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.74.

AT&T Profile

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.