Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. $TDS Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,903 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after selling 3,657 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Telephone and Data Systems were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,342 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Telephone and Data Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $200,000. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Telephone and Data Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $216,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Telephone and Data Systems from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Telephone and Data Systems from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded 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, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Prudence E. Carlson sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $240,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 315,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,003,138.85. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph R. Hanley sold 68,759 shares of Telephone and Data Systems 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 60,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,307,649.68. This trade represents a 53.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 276,650 shares of company stock valued at $10,690,789. Corporate insiders own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE TDS opened at $37.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.78. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.38 and a 1 year high of $42.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.23. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.94 and a beta of 0.35.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Telephone and Data Systems

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.