88,998 Shares in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Purchased by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 88,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,094,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 2.4% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 92,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,203,000 after buying an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 723,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,673,000 after acquiring an additional 104,572 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at about $398,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in BCE by 14.1% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,216,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,330,000 after purchasing an additional 150,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BCE. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE BCE opened at $26.47 on Wednesday. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $26.13 and a one year high of $41.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.60. The firm has a market cap of $24.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 378.14, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.