Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. by 39.9% in Q1, now owning 218,704 shares valued at $8.47 million.
• Insider selling activity included CFO Vicki L. Villacrez and SVP Joseph R. Hanley selling a combined total of 95,093 shares on August 18, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership.
• Telephone and Data Systems reported a loss of $0.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations and experiencing a 5.7% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 39.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,704 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after selling 145,297 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.19% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $8,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TDS. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.8% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

NYSE TDS traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 252,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,071,365. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.77 and a beta of 0.48. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.81 and a 1-year high of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $38.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.45.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 0.85%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently -16.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TDS. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Transactions at Telephone and Data Systems

In other Telephone and Data Systems news, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total transaction of $2,623,843.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 60,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,307,649.68. The trade was a 53.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 8,608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $336,486.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,930.83. This trade represents a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.97% of the company's stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc, a telecommunications company, provides communications services in the United States. It operates through two segments: UScellular and TDS Telecom. The company offers wireless solutions to consumers, and business and government customers, including a suite of connected Internet of things (IoT) solutions, and software applications for monitor and control, business automation/operations, communication, fleet and asset management, smart water solutions, private cellular networks and custom, and end-to-end IoT solutions; wireless priority services and quality priority and preemption options; smartphones and other handsets, tablets, wearables, mobile hotspots, fixed wireless home internet, and IoT devices; and accessories, such as cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards, as well as consumer electronics, including audio, home automation and networking products.