BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario trimmed its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 7.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP lifted its holdings in BCE by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 20,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 10,273 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $802,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in BCE by 130.1% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in BCE by 372.8% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 71,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 56,706 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BCE. 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 research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $26.98 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.72. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 385.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.54.

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 paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.93%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

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.