LPL Financial LLC Sells 5,207 Shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,307 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 5,207 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Telephone and Data Systems worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,485 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,319 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 8.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 8.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Performance

Shares of TDS opened at $39.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.37 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.29. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.38 and a 52 week high of $42.74.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.04). Telephone and Data Systems had a positive return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 0.85%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s dividend payout ratio is -16.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 4,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $171,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 311,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,973,692.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vicki L. Villacrez sold 26,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $1,027,552.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,715.08. The trade was a 98.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 268,042 shares of company stock valued at $10,354,302. Company insiders own 14.48% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Profile

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.