Gold Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 3,646 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares during the quarter. BCE accounts for approximately 1.5% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 2.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in BCE by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BCE. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays cut their target price on BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

BCE Stock Up 1.0 %

BCE stock opened at $28.35 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $41.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 186.16%.

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.