Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 79,742 Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 79,742 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,705,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of Telephone and Data Systems at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,482,147 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $272,898,000 after acquiring an additional 90,097 shares during the period. Carronade Capital Management LP boosted its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 10.0% in the first quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 4,623,934 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $194,668,000 after buying an additional 420,340 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 4,292,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $180,703,000 after buying an additional 603,857 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,096,000. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,040,000. 80.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on TDS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Telephone and Data Systems stock opened at $33.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.32. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.71 and a twelve month high of $49.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.33%.

Telephone and Data Systems Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc NYSE: TDS is a telecommunications holding company that provides broadband and communications services in communities across the United States. Its principal operating business is TDS Telecom, which serves residential, business and wholesale customers with internet access, fiber-optic and other broadband connections, voice services, video entertainment and related communications solutions.

TDS Telecom focuses on expanding high-speed broadband availability in rural and suburban markets.

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