Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.39% of BCE worth $123,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 321.0% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in BCE in the second quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.31 on Wednesday, hitting $27.00. 3,376,249 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,355,905. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 390.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.30. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $26.51 and a one year high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.92%. This is a boost from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.