Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases Shares of 117,412 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 117,412 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,178,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.10% of Telephone and Data Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TDS. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,429,000. Carronade Capital Management LP increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 48.2% in the first quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 2,730,517 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $105,780,000 after purchasing an additional 888,108 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 12.7% in the first quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 6,760,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $261,882,000 after purchasing an additional 760,000 shares during the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $21,216,000. Finally, Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $19,141,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Telephone and Data Systems news, CFO Vicki L. Villacrez sold 26,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $1,027,552.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,715.08. This trade represents a 98.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total value of $2,623,843.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 60,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,307,649.68. This trade represents a 53.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.97% of the company's stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TDS opened at $37.31 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.67. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $42.74. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of -38.46 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TDS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Telephone and Data Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Company 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.

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