SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 745,088 BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 745,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,271,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 121.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE opened at $23.24 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.77 and a 200 day moving average of $30.46. The stock has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 331.93, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $41.51.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,028.57%.

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.