BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 723,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 104,572 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $28,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 2.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of BCE by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $22.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 326.71, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.70 and a 200-day moving average of $31.72.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. 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 yield of 12.89%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,214.29%.

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.