Assetmark Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Assetmark Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,330 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 66.4% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,320,000 after acquiring an additional 543,320 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of BCE by 116.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS acquired a new position in BCE during the second quarter worth $298,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $26.83 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.13 and a 200-day moving average of $33.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a PE ratio of 383.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.99%. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.