Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Increases Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,216,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 150,510 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in BCE were worth $42,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 60.0% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in BCE by 321.0% during 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. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine 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 MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $26.78 on Monday. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The company has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 382.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.54. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.65.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.01%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,228.57%.

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.