Millicom International Cellular Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:TIGO)

Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ:TIGO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 25,986 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 3,275% compared to the average volume of 770 call options.

Millicom International Cellular Stock Up 0.7%

TIGO stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.18. 1,132,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,201. The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Millicom International Cellular has a twelve month low of $26.35 and a twelve month high of $82.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.86.

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Millicom International Cellular had a net margin of 22.62% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Millicom International Cellular will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Millicom International Cellular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 8th. Millicom International Cellular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TIGO. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Millicom International Cellular in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Millicom International Cellular from $43.00 to $51.20 and gave the stock a “sector underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Millicom International Cellular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Millicom International Cellular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Millicom International Cellular during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 455.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 54,576 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,038,000 after buying an additional 44,758 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 181,118 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,041,000 after buying an additional 23,336 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Millicom International Cellular in the 4th quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Millicom International Cellular by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,455 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter.

Millicom International Cellular Company Profile

Millicom International Cellular SA, trading under the TIGO brand, is a Luxembourg‐headquartered telecommunications and media company that provides a range of mobile, cable broadband, digital television and enterprise services. Through its integrated infrastructure, the company delivers voice and data connectivity, high‐speed internet access and pay‐television packages to millions of customers, supported by ongoing investments in network coverage and capacity.

Established in 1990 by Swedish investor Jan Stenbeck, Millicom has grown into a multi‐regional operator focused primarily on Central and South America.