Assetmark Inc. Sells 29,330 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Assetmark Inc. lessened its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,330 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 66.4% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,320,000 after purchasing an additional 543,320 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in BCE by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,816,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS bought a new position in BCE in the second quarter valued at about $298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE remained flat at $26.84 on Friday. 2,402,322 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,332,241. The company's fifty day moving average price is $32.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.42. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.51 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 379.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.