US Bancorp DE Has $711,000 Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

US Bancorp DE reduced its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,030 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in BCE were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BCE. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $28.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.59. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.29 and a 52 week high of $41.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.57.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. 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 yield of 10.39%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 186.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.33.

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.