Bridgewater Associates LP Cuts Stock Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,682 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in BCE were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 3.9% in the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in BCE by 6.1% in the third 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 during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $27.05 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $41.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 386.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.90.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

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.