Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 43.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,470 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in BCE by 5,036.0% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BCE shares. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $27.01 on Tuesday. 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 $24.64 billion, a PE ratio of 385.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $41.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.11.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.91%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,228.57%.

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.