BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by Old Port Advisors

Old Port Advisors lessened its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 39,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in BCE were worth $918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 55.9% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its position in BCE by 4.5% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $23.25. 521,380 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,579,633. The company has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 332.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.18 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.40.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BCE. Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE 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.