DGS Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 321.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the second quarter worth $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lowered their price target 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 cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $25.52 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.24 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.40. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 364.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

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.