Janus Henderson Group PLC Trims Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings 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 valued at $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of BCE by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 48.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $25.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.40. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.24 and a 12 month high of $41.77. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 364.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Company 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.