Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 180,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 45,000 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $7,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TDS. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,607,857 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $128,368,000 after purchasing an additional 137,494 shares in the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 239.3% during the 2nd quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 3,392,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $120,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392,500 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323,551 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $82,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,999 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,335,759 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $47,526,000 after purchasing an additional 26,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,190,657 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $42,364,000 after purchasing an additional 6,729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TDS. Citigroup upped their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of TDS opened at $44.87 on Tuesday. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.07 and a 1 year high of $47.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.03 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.10.

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

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio 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.