M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,073 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in BCE by 14.1% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,216,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,330,000 after purchasing an additional 150,510 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in BCE by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,582,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $701,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $25.52 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.39. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.57, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.24 and a 12-month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a positive change 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 11.55%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,214.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.