Insider Selling: Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) SVP Sells $2,623,843.44 in Stock

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) SVP Joseph Hanley sold 68,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total transaction of $2,623,843.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 60,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,307,649.68. This trade represents a 53.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE TDS opened at $39.0520 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.26 and a beta of 0.54. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $42.74. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $37.16 and its 200 day moving average is $36.33.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted 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 negative net margin of 0.85% and a positive return on equity of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Telephone and Data Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telephone and Data Systems Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TDS. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Telephone and Data Systems by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 8,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on TDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Telephone and Data Systems Company 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.