Norges Bank Takes $1.86 Billion Position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 81,616,938 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,418,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.14% of AT&T at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on T shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

AT&T Price Performance

NYSE:T opened at $27.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $198.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. AT&T Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $27.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.43.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AT&T

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.