Pacifica Partners Inc. Trims Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Pacifica Partners Inc. lowered its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 866 shares during the quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in BCE in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in BCE by 321.0% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 322.29, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.81. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.07%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,028.57%.

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.