Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,726,277 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 212,501 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.07% of AT&T worth $90,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 159.7% in the 1st quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.65% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T opened at $14.62 on Thursday. AT&T Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.43 and a twelve month high of $20.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.68.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The technology company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $29.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.07 billion. AT&T had a negative net margin of 7.22% and a positive return on equity of 15.91%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 7th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -90.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on T. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

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, and carrying cases and hands-free devices through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.