Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Invests $766,000 in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,021 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $766,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 60.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.82. The stock had a trading volume of 4,366,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,394,627. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 383.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $32.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.51 and a 52 week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.99%. This is a boost from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE's payout ratio is currently 4,228.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BCE. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.00.

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.