BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 103,967 Shares of TELUS Co. (NYSE:TU)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in TELUS Co. (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) by 76.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 239,792 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,967 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in TELUS were worth $3,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in TELUS by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 30,219,141 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $409,662,000 after acquiring an additional 6,659,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TELUS during the fourth quarter valued at about $70,212,000. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. boosted its holdings in TELUS by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 2,236,163 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $30,299,000 after acquiring an additional 912,277 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TELUS by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,801,407 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $349,841,000 after buying an additional 903,921 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TELUS in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,325,000. 49.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TELUS Stock Performance

NYSE:TU opened at $15.69 on Friday. TELUS Co. has a 12-month low of $13.24 and a 12-month high of $17.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.83.

TELUS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.2989 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from TELUS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. TELUS’s dividend payout ratio is 234.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TU has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TELUS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut shares of TELUS from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of TELUS from $20.25 to $21.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cormark cut shares of TELUS from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TELUS currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.50.

About TELUS

TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network services; healthcare services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services, as well as mobile and fixed voice and data telecommunications services and products.