Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 150,510 Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,216,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 150,510 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.13% of BCE worth $42,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 138.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,273 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the second quarter worth about $231,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $147,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 103,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.91. The company had a trading volume of 4,030,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,442,558. The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 384.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.96%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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. Nine 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.