Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Makes New $51,000 Investment in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BCE. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 10.0% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 73,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of BCE by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 156,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,307,000 after purchasing an additional 65,560 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 526.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 66,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 56,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors increased its position in BCE by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 39,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 4,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $27.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 386.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.59. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.91%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.