Strs Ohio Purchases Shares of 28,800 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems, acquiring 28,800 shares valued at approximately $1,116,000 during the first quarter.
• A number of analysts have upgraded Telephone and Data Systems, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price increase to $52.00.
• Recently, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.04, with a scheduled payment on September 30th, representing a 0.4% dividend yield.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,800 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TDS. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,149 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 29,706 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 9,150 shares during the period. 80.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Telephone and Data Systems

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

Telephone and Data Systems Price Performance

TDS traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,999,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,030,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of -39.16 and a beta of 0.48. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.62.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The company's revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.00.

About Telephone and Data Systems

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.