Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS)

T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 17,264 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 137% compared to the average volume of 7,292 call options.

T-Mobile US Trading Down 0.6 %

TMUS traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $232.97. 3,337,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,989,259. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $226.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. T-Mobile US has a 1-year low of $158.84 and a 1-year high of $248.15.

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.42. T-Mobile US had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 13.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that T-Mobile US will post 10.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

T-Mobile US Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. T-Mobile US’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at T-Mobile US

In related news, Director Letitia A. Long sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.08, for a total value of $254,188.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,295.24. This represents a 16.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO G Michael Sievert sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.73, for a total transaction of $4,754,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,891,418.52. This represents a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,200 shares of company stock valued at $32,736,303 in the last three months. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On T-Mobile US

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in T-Mobile US by 38.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,165,153 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $653,160,000 after purchasing an additional 876,182 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of T-Mobile US by 21,580.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 249,981 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $51,586,000 after buying an additional 248,828 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of T-Mobile US by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 26,972 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,954,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of T-Mobile US by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 255,044 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $52,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in T-Mobile US by 737.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 56,521 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,476,000 after purchasing an additional 49,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TMUS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on T-Mobile US from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of T-Mobile US from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of T-Mobile US from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on T-Mobile US from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded T-Mobile US to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.21.

T-Mobile US Company Profile

T-Mobile US, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile communications services in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The company offers voice, messaging, and data services to customers in the postpaid, prepaid, and wholesale and other services. It also provides wireless devices, including smartphones, wearables, tablets, home broadband routers, and other mobile communication devices, as well as wireless devices and accessories; financing through equipment installment plans; reinsurance for device insurance policies and extended warranty contracts; leasing through JUMP! On Demand; and High Speed Internet services.