Kestra Advisory Services LLC Acquires 76,483 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,446,582 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,483 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $35,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in T. State Street Corp grew its position in AT&T by 5.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,273,613 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,919,464,000 after acquiring an additional 18,468,679 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in AT&T by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 125,191,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,629,307,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,222 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AT&T by 3.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 75,323,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,559,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559,065 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the second quarter worth about $1,223,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 2.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 55,616,152 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,151,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Key AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T and AST SpaceMobile completed what AT&T describes as the first successful handoff between a terrestrial cellular network and a direct-to-device satellite connection using standard smartphones. The technology could eventually help extend coverage beyond traditional network reach, though the reports do not indicate near-term revenue impact. Article: Is AT&T Undervalued As Its Satellite Handoff Opens A New Coverage Question?
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T plans to move all consumer-facing customer support to U.S.-based operations by 2027 and use AI to assist agents and automate routine inquiries. The change may improve service or align with policy trends, but its cost and financial effects are not specified. Article: AT&T Sets 2027 Deadline For All U.S. Based Consumer Support
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks analysis says AT&T shares have fallen 11.8% over the past year, lagging the wireless industry and broader market benchmarks despite fiber and wireless growth. It cites rising debt and competitive pressures as concerns that could offset the stock’s valuation appeal. Article: AT&T Stock Falls 11.8% in a Year: Should You Buy the Dip?
• Negative Sentiment: A dividend-stock comparison puts Verizon’s yield at 6.1% and AT&T’s below that, which may make AT&T less appealing to investors focused mainly on income. Separately, an article on dividend safety notes that debt refinancing at higher rates can compete with cash available for dividends; the supplied summary does not specify AT&T’s individual risk assessment. Article: Better Dividend Stock: Verizon vs. AT&T

AT&T Trading Down 0.9%

AT&T stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 40,034,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,463,700. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.82. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.89 and a 12 month high of $29.43. The stock has a market cap of $145.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.30.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $32.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.69 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.41% and a net margin of 10.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on T. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Arete Research decreased their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays cut their target price on AT&T from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.56.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.