Old Port Advisors Has $1.34 Million Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Old Port Advisors raised its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Rating) (TSE:BCE) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in BCE were worth $1,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the first quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. 42.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $43.68 on Friday. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.88 and a 52 week high of $59.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.41.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.713 dividend. This represents a $2.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from an “outperform market weight” rating to a “sector perform market weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$66.00 to C$64.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of BCE from C$62.00 to C$64.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$65.00 to C$64.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.18.

BCE Profile

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BCE, Inc is a telecommunications and media company, which engages in the provision of communication services to residential, business, and wholesale customers. It operates through the following segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment covers integrated digital wireless voice and data communications products and services to residential and business customers.