Gold Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 3,646 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,646 shares during the period. BCE makes up about 1.5% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in BCE by 4.7% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

BCE Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of BCE opened at $28.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.59. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.64.

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 $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. 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 10.40%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 186.16%.

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.