Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 499,771 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 100,117 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $19,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Oaktree Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $144,732,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,186,656 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $46,564,000 after purchasing an additional 246,565 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,465 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 1,593.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 215,401 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $8,452,000 after purchasing an additional 202,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the third quarter worth about $136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TDS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE TDS opened at $43.42 on Friday. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.07 and a 12 month high of $47.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.50 and a 200-day moving average of $40.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -66.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.23. Telephone and Data Systems had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. The business had revenue of $330.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.28 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -24.62%.

About Telephone and Data Systems

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.