BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co lessened its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in BCE were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE BCE opened at $27.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 388.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.11 and a 12 month high of $41.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.51.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.84%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,228.57%.

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.