Barclays PLC Acquires 52,966 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $4,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after buying an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in BCE by 5,036.0% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,042 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 12.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.2 %

BCE opened at $23.16 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.53 and its 200 day moving average is $32.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.86, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

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.