The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 4,258,557 Shares of TELUS Corporation $TU

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) by 21.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,075,122 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,258,557 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in TELUS were worth $309,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of TELUS by 1.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 779,692 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $11,181,000 after buying an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of TELUS by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,099 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in TELUS by 159.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,274 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 22,912 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TELUS by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,698 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in TELUS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.40% of the company’s stock.

TELUS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TU opened at $10.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.34 and a 200 day moving average of $12.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.63. TELUS Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.95 and a 52 week high of $16.72.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. TELUS had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 4.54%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TELUS Corporation will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a $0.4184 dividend. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. TELUS’s payout ratio is 275.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of TELUS in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays set a $12.00 target price on TELUS and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank downgraded TELUS from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TELUS in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised TELUS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.67.

About TELUS

TELUS Corporation (NYSE: TU) is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It delivers a broad portfolio of consumer and business communications services across Canada, including mobile wireless, fixed-line voice, broadband internet, and television. TELUS also provides a range of enterprise services such as cloud and IT solutions, managed network services, cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) offerings for business customers.

Beyond core connectivity, TELUS has expanded into health and digital services.