BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,610 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $12,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 51,205 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 8,335 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in BCE by 2.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 495,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,228,000 after buying an additional 13,032 shares during the period. American Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BCE in the third quarter valued at $2,262,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth about $1,876,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 76,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE BCE opened at $26.75 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 385.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.59. BCE Inc. has a one year low of $26.51 and a one year high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,228.57%.

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.