American Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 65,000 BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

American Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 65,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,262,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in BCE by 2.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in BCE by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in BCE by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Edward Jones cut BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,563,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,535. The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 387.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.59. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $33.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.54. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.11 and a 52-week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 a positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.65%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,228.57%.

About BCE

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.