Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 669,776 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 59.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 449,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 669,776 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in BCE were worth $9,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 2,459.6% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.22. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $27.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.78, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.78%.

About BCE

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.