PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 2,437 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCE. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 321.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.3 %

BCE stock opened at $26.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 382.43, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $41.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.15.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.01%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,228.57%.

BCE Company 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.