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

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

T-Mobile US Trading Up 6.3 %

Shares of T-Mobile US stock opened at $235.15 on Thursday. T-Mobile US has a 1 year low of $158.84 and a 1 year high of $248.15. The firm has a market cap of $272.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $226.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.42. T-Mobile US had a return on equity of 16.35% and a net margin of 12.96%. Equities research analysts anticipate that T-Mobile US will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

T-Mobile US Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. T-Mobile US’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at T-Mobile US

In other news, EVP Nestor Cano sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.75, for a total transaction of $2,561,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,015,300. This trade represents a 71.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andre Almeida acquired 3,808 shares of T-Mobile US stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $235.72 per share, with a total value of $897,621.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $897,621.76. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,200 shares of company stock valued at $32,736,303. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On T-Mobile US

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMUS. FMR LLC increased its holdings in T-Mobile US by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,893,770 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,660,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,394 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in T-Mobile US by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,165,153 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $653,160,000 after buying an additional 876,182 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in T-Mobile US by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,524,529 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,203,642,000 after buying an additional 602,786 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in T-Mobile US by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,553,703 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,448,426,000 after buying an additional 590,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in T-Mobile US by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,473,540 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $324,960,000 after buying an additional 397,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of T-Mobile US from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their target price on T-Mobile US from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank increased their target price on T-Mobile US from $236.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen increased their target price on T-Mobile US from $216.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of T-Mobile US in a report on Tuesday. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.74.

About T-Mobile US

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.