Tidal Investments LLC Grows Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 138.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BCE. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of BCE by 130.1% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,200,000 after acquiring an additional 165,881 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,094,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in BCE by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,216,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,330,000 after acquiring an additional 150,510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.86, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.03. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 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 $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.73%. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.