Addenda Capital Inc. Acquires 39,115 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 697,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,115 shares during the quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. owned 0.08% of BCE worth $16,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 321.0% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a PE ratio of 330.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.03 and a 200-day moving average of $30.63. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $21.87 and a one year high of $41.77. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,028.57%.

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.