BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 48.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.39% of BCE worth $123,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $500,376,000 after purchasing an additional 80,879 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 202.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 6.4% in the first quarter. Guardian Capital Advisors LP now owns 371,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,141,000 after acquiring an additional 22,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the first quarter valued at $4,676,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.3 %

BCE stock opened at $27.32 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 390.21, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.30. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.51 and a 52 week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.79%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,228.57%.

BCE Profile

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.