Ingalls & Snyder LLC Has $1.22 Million Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in BCE by 130.1% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth $766,000. American Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth $2,262,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 8.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 346,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,065,000 after purchasing an additional 26,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $27.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 390.36, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.54. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.45 and a 12 month high of $41.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.79%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,228.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.