Bank of America Corp DE Buys 5,779 Shares of United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM)

Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) by 64.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,791 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,779 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in United States Cellular were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of United States Cellular by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,657 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 227,397 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $14,262,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 480,250 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $30,121,000 after buying an additional 204,146 shares during the period. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,815,844 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $113,890,000 after buying an additional 35,052 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of United States Cellular by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,933 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the period. 18.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on USM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded United States Cellular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (down from $83.00) on shares of United States Cellular in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of United States Cellular from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th.

United States Cellular Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of USM stock opened at $62.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -174.23 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.16. United States Cellular Co. has a 1-year low of $47.59 and a 1-year high of $70.79.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $891.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.90 million. United States Cellular had a negative net margin of 0.79% and a positive return on equity of 1.55%. On average, equities research analysts expect that United States Cellular Co. will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Cellular Profile

United States Cellular Corporation provides wireless telecommunications services in the United States. The company offers wireless services, including voice, messaging, and data services. It also provides wireless devices, such as handsets, tablets, mobile hotspots, home phones, and routers, as well as wireless essentials, including cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards; and consumer electronics comprising audio, home automation, and networking products.