BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stake Lowered by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co decreased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in BCE were worth $361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $500,376,000 after buying an additional 80,879 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after acquiring an additional 905,857 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in BCE by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $27.21 on Thursday. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.11 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.51. The company has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 388.64, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.59.

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 10.84%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,228.57%.

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.