56,700 Shares in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 56,700 shares of Telephone and Data Systems, valued at approximately $2.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 80% of TDS shares, with several other funds also increasing their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: TDS has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50, despite Buy or Overweight ratings from Citigroup and JPMorgan.
• TDS reported quarterly EPS of $2.24, far exceeding the $0.09 consensus estimate, while revenue of $309.3 million fell short of expectations. The company also declared a $0.04 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.4% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 56,700 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,098,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,165 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 21.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,125 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 11,769 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 58,721 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 358.3% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,043 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 21,142 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TDS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 0.0%

TDS stock opened at $37.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.82. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $31.51 and a one year high of $49.12. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.63.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $2.15. The company had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.78 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 33.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

About Telephone and Data Systems

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc NYSE: TDS is a diversified telecommunications company that provides broadband, voice, video, wireless and managed communications services in the United States. Its operations primarily serve residential, business and government customers in smaller cities, suburban communities and rural markets.

TDS Telecom is the company's primary operating business. It delivers high-speed internet, fiber-based connectivity, traditional and digital voice services, video entertainment, hosted and managed services, and other communications solutions.

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