Prospera Private Wealth LLC Acquires 1,794 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in BCE during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Cibc World Mkts raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $27.32 on Wednesday. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.51 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 390.21, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

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 given a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.79%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,228.57%.

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.