Voya Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 584 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Voya Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 584 shares during the period. Voya Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $510,000 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. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in BCE by 97.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 6,267 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in BCE by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of BCE by 2.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 755,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,284,000 after buying an additional 17,246 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in BCE by 180.4% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth $498,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $26.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.72. The stock has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 382.93, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.54. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.00%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.