Croban Reduces Position in Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS

Croban decreased its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,825 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 543 shares during the quarter. Croban’s holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.8% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter worth $200,000. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at about $202,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at about $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TDS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Telephone and Data Systems

In other news, CAO Anita J. Kroll sold 8,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $336,486.72. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,930.83. This represents a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 4,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $171,402.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 311,005 shares in the company, valued at $11,973,692.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 276,650 shares of company stock worth $10,690,789 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE TDS opened at $38.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.95. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.64 and a 12 month high of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.54 and a beta of 0.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

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

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.