Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:CHT)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Chunghwa Telecom by 15.0%, acquiring an additional 145,984 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to approximately $43.79 million.
• Chunghwa Telecom recently raised its annual dividend to $1.6695 per share, significantly increased from the previous year's $1.47, resulting in a dividend yield of 290.0%.
• Despite the company's solid quarterly earnings report exceeding estimates, Wall Street analysts have downgraded Chunghwa Telecom's stock from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:CHT - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,116,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 145,984 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Chunghwa Telecom worth $43,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Chunghwa Telecom by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 39,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,505,000 after buying an additional 18,839 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Chunghwa Telecom by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 35,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Chunghwa Telecom by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chunghwa Telecom by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 12,617 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chunghwa Telecom by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 26,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. 2.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chunghwa Telecom from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Chunghwa Telecom Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CHT traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $45.27. 124,468 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,406. Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. has a 12 month low of $36.61 and a 12 month high of $47.03. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $44.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.78. The company has a market cap of $35.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE:CHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Chunghwa Telecom had a net margin of 16.27% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.92 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chunghwa Telecom Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $1.6695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 290.0%. This is an increase from Chunghwa Telecom's previous annual dividend of $1.47. Chunghwa Telecom's payout ratio is currently 84.97%.

About Chunghwa Telecom

Chunghwa Telecom Co, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunication services in Taiwan and internationally. It operates through Consumer Business, Enterprise Business, International Business, and Others segments. The company offers local, domestic long distance, and international long distance fixed-line telephone services; mobile services such as prepaid and postpaid plans; broadband plans; and internet and data services.