Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 295,000 Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund reduced its TDS stake by 34.7%, selling 295,000 shares in the first quarter and retaining 555,400 shares valued at approximately $23.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80% of the company.
• Telephone and Data Systems reported quarterly EPS of $1.11, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of a $0.87 loss, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $309.45 million, slightly below forecasts.
• TDS shares opened at $34.33, near their 12-month low, while analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating and a $53.33 price target. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, implying a 0.5% yield.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) by 34.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 555,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after selling 295,000 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.49% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $23,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 343.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,597 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 225.4% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,790 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 17,172 shares during the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP now owns 1,315,306 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $53,928,000 after acquiring an additional 66,148 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 39,891 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,636,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Telephone and Data Systems by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,482,147 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $272,898,000 after acquiring an additional 90,097 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.00% of the company's stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

TDS stock opened at $34.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 64.77 and a beta of 0.30. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.01 and a 12 month high of $49.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.98. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company had revenue of $309.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TDS. Weiss Ratings downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial cut Telephone and Data Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Profile

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc NYSE: TDS is a diversified telecommunications company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides a broad array of communications services, including wireless voice and data, wireline broadband and voice, cable television, and managed IT and cloud solutions. Its two primary operating units—TDS Telecom and U.S. Cellular—serve residential, business and wholesale customers across the United States.

TDS Telecom focuses on delivering broadband internet, digital voice, video and data communications services in primarily rural and suburban markets.

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