Old North State Trust LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 138.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,273 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $231,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $147,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 1.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 103,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 22.5% in the second quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $25.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 368.93, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. BCE Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.57 and a 1-year high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.42%. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,228.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.