Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $8.20 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 235,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,959 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in BCE were worth $8,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $27.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 386.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.45 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.29 and a 200-day moving average of $32.97.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.737 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.91%. BCE’s payout ratio 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.