BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stock Position Raised by PEAK6 Investments LLC

PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 142.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 97,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the period. PEAK6 Investments LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 13.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 14.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $27.03 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 firm has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 386.14, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.91. BCE Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month 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 paid a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.91%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 4,228.57%.

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.