Kowal Investment Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 3.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 66,562 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 2.1% during the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,313 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.3% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.2% in the second quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 24,138 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,177 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in AT&T by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 92,450 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,767,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Up 0.8 %

AT&T stock opened at $21.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $154.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70. AT&T Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.12 and a fifty-two week high of $22.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.34.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on T. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Scotiabank downgraded AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.31.

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.