BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stake Lowered by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,855 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 55.9% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 4,605 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.73%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

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.