The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 245 Shares of United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM) by 6.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,148 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in United States Cellular were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in USM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in United States Cellular by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,299,323 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $128,349,000 after purchasing an additional 72,843 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of United States Cellular in the 2nd quarter worth about $589,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United States Cellular by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 143,021 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $7,816,000 after buying an additional 31,934 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of United States Cellular by 3.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 680,300 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $37,974,000 after purchasing an additional 20,785 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in United States Cellular in the second quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Institutional investors own 18.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on USM shares. StockNews.com raised shares of United States Cellular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on United States Cellular from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded United States Cellular from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

United States Cellular Stock Performance

United States Cellular stock opened at $62.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -173.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.57. United States Cellular Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.01 and a fifty-two week high of $68.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.18.

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $922.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $940.40 million. United States Cellular had a negative net margin of 0.79% and a positive return on equity of 1.55%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United States Cellular Co. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United States Cellular Company 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.