First County Bank CT Sells 5,915 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

First County Bank CT lowered its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,915 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in BCE were worth $857,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $500,376,000 after acquiring an additional 80,879 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% in the second 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 period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $163,932,000 after buying an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,379,000 after buying an additional 186,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE BCE opened at $26.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 381.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.59. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.10 and its 200 day moving average is $33.21.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.04%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,228.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Nine equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

About BCE

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.