Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in T-Mobile US, Inc. $TMUS

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC significantly increased its stake in T-Mobile US, adding 29,883 shares for a total holding worth approximately $9.43 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their stakes, with notable increases from companies like UMB Bank n.a., which lifted its holdings by 1,248.4%.
• T-Mobile US recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.02 per share, a boost from the previous $0.88, indicating a positive outlook for the company.

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS - Free Report) by 308.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,575 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,883 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in T-Mobile US were worth $9,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TMUS. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in T-Mobile US by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 5,504 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,468,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of T-Mobile US in the first quarter worth approximately $260,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of T-Mobile US by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in T-Mobile US by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,926 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in T-Mobile US by 1,248.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 24,743 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $6,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,908 shares in the last quarter. 42.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMUS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of T-Mobile US in a report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of T-Mobile US from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on T-Mobile US from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on T-Mobile US in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $286.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on T-Mobile US from $280.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $262.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at T-Mobile US

In related news, Director Telekom Ag Deutsche sold 64,426 shares of T-Mobile US stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.54, for a total value of $15,432,604.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 634,112,640 shares in the company, valued at $151,895,341,785.60. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,514,793 shares of company stock worth $606,931,756 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

T-Mobile US Price Performance

T-Mobile US stock opened at $230.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. T-Mobile US, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.18 and a 52-week high of $276.49. The firm has a market cap of $259.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average is $244.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.90.

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $21.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.99 billion. T-Mobile US had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 14.53%.The company's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that T-Mobile US, Inc. will post 10.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

T-Mobile US Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from T-Mobile US's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. T-Mobile US's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.21%.

About T-Mobile US

T-Mobile US, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile communications services in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The company offers voice, messaging, and data services to customers in the postpaid, prepaid, and wholesale and other services. It also provides wireless devices, including smartphones, wearables, tablets, home broadband routers, and other mobile communication devices, as well as wireless devices and accessories; financing through equipment installment plans; reinsurance for device insurance policies and extended warranty contracts; leasing through JUMP! On Demand; and High Speed Internet services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.