Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 88,221 Shares of AT&T Inc. $T

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 12.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 776,184 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 88,221 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AT&T were worth $22,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in AT&T by 5.3% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,488,172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,142,000 after buying an additional 74,684 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the first quarter worth about $2,901,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 749.1% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 159,598 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,964,000 after acquiring an additional 140,802 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in AT&T by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 338,942 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,419,000 after acquiring an additional 155,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,668,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,449,000 after acquiring an additional 59,279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T opened at $24.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $169.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. AT&T Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.89 and a 12-month high of $29.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.24.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.80 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 16.94%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on T shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AT&T from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AT&T from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.19.

Key AT&T News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nationwide spectrum acquisition completed: AT&T closed its approximately $23 billion purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar. The deal adds roughly 50 MHz of spectrum—including 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and 20 MHz of 600 MHz low-band spectrum—covering virtually every U.S. market. The additional capacity should support faster, more reliable 5G service and improve AT&T’s competitive position. AT&T Closes Acquisition of Spectrum Licenses from EchoStar
• Positive Sentiment: Potential operating efficiencies from D-Wave partnership: AT&T expanded its use of D-Wave Quantum’s (NASDAQ: QBTS) technology for network optimization, including outage detection, technician routing and traffic management. Initial testing reportedly reduced an optimization task from about one hour to 15 seconds. If scaled successfully, the technology could lower operating costs, improve outage response and make network investments more efficient. AT&T and D-Wave Expand Quantum Computing Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial backdrop remains supportive: AT&T recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.65 versus the $0.59 consensus, while revenue increased 2.3% year over year. Management also reiterated its financial outlook and capital-allocation plan. These results help reinforce confidence in the company’s dividend and ongoing network investments, although the spectrum transaction’s contribution to earnings will take time to develop.
• Negative Sentiment: Large capital commitment raises balance-sheet concerns: The $23 billion spectrum purchase is a significant investment for a highly capital-intensive, debt-laden telecom operator. The licenses should improve long-term capacity, but investors may remain concerned about financing costs, leverage and the need to generate sufficient returns from the additional spectrum.

AT&T Profile

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T’s product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.